Silhouettes
by pastel daisies
Summary: Chapter 31: Three Wishes is up! A collection of one-shots to celebrate SasuSaku month. Rating changed to M for caution.
1. I

**A/N:** _Sorry a few of these were a bit late, my schedule is all off this week! But everything should be up to speed as of this weekend. Gah, if I was as good as an artist than I was with my imagination, I would draw some things for this month, but I suck. So instead enjoy my words!_

_Also, I will be updating this FIRST daily, and then 'Empire' if you follow that story. However, both should be updated this weekend. Happy SasuSaku month!_

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><p><strong>I. the smell of fresh paint<strong>

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><p>"Sasuke-kun!"<p>

Sasuke's eyelids fluttered, but he didn't open his eyes. He sighed loudly and rolled over onto his side on the comfy bed. The front door slammed, and then there was silence. Sasuke pulled the bed sheets up over his elbows and snuggled his head into his pillow. There was more silence, followed by loud door slamming, cupboards opening, and bags dropped to the floor. Foot steps traveled closer to the east side of the house, closer to the bedroom. Sasuke's lip twitched. The footsteps stopped, and two sets of chakra were felt standing outside of the door to the bedroom, one chakra signature faint, the other strong, warm, and partially irritated.

"Sasuke-kun! Get up, lazy, it's 9 am!" Came a happy, sweet voice from the other side of the bedroom door. A heel clad foot tapped on the floor impatiently. Sasuke's eyelids fluttered once more, and he rolled onto his back, shoving his face into his pillow. He let out a long breath.

"Shh." He muttered loudly into the soft material, knowing it would be muffled, but also knowing that the person outside the door had the keenest shinobi ears only matched by Sasuke's. The foot tapping stopped, and the doorknob turned quickly, light pouring into the dark room as the door swung open. Sasuke buried his head farther into the pillow, trying to ignore the sudden brightness. He frowned.

"Sasuke-kun!" The voice gasped, and footsteps led around to his side of the large bed. Sheets were ripped from over him, small, soft hands grabbing his lean biceps, giving him a shake.

"Wake up, shannaro!" Sasuke growled and refused to move, even when the person holding his arms used monstrously strong strength to roll him over onto his back. He scrunched his eyes closed and ripped his right arm from the grip, throwing it over his eyes to block out the light.

"Are you even listening to me?" The feminine voice sounded more than mildly irritated now, and there was more foot tapping. Before Sasuke could respond sarcastically, a warm weight was on his hips, two thighs beside his waist, securing his position on the bed underneath the body. Small fingers with a ghostly touch ran up his muscled chest, stopping at his collarbones, playing with the skin. His lips twitched into a smirk, arm retreating from over his eyes, which remained closed. His fingers moved across the sheets in a snake-like manner, inching up a pair of naked, smooth legs, and up to a thin waist. He played with the edge of the shirt, and he felt fingers run up his face to caress his cheeks.

"Wake up, Sa-su-ke-kun.." A voice urged lightly, seductively. Hot air blew into the shell of his ear, making him shiver. Finally, his eyes slowly slid open, meeting first a cloud of pink, then emerald orbs. His lips parted, and his hands gripped her hips.

"Sakura, it's too early." He muttered childishly, and pressed her closer to him. Said girl threw her long, pink locks over her shoulder and laughed, hands snaking down to his stomach, and lower. He bit his lip and sighed happily. His head arched backwards into his pillow as fingers explored the crevices of his hips and pelvis, but they stopped as he was getting into it. He frowned and opened his eyes once more, looking at his wife.

"Sasuke-kun! I got the paint this morning while you were being lazy in bed." Sakura leaned down and pressed a large kiss to his lips, slapping away the hand that pressed into the back of her neck to deepen the kiss. She pulled away and ignored Sasuke's groans.

"Come on! I wanna get started right away! Gah I am so glad you finally wanted to know the sex, it made choosing a color easier!" Sasuke's hand snaked up to press into her firm, rounded belly. It was about the size of half a basketball, she still had months to go. He felt a small kick against his fingers and jolted up, ignoring Sakura's yelp of surprise as she moved in his lap. He placed his other hand in the same spot and leaned down to her shirt, pulling up the material.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you-" Her fingers tried to pry the material out of his hands to pull her button up back down, but he had already yanked it up to the swell of her stomach, his lips to her soft skin. Sakura shivered and cupped his head to her belly.

"He kicked." Sasuke murmured into her skin, and felt another jolt against his fingers and lips. He chuckled, and kissed the skin.

"Hello, baby Kenji.." He said gently, and Sakura stroked his hair. After a few moments of sitting in silence, Sakura jumped out of her husband's lap as gracefully as a pregnant woman could, and rubbed her ankle. She then grabbed her husband's hand and yanked him out of bed.

"Let's start painting!" She said happily and threw his shirt and pants at him, before disappearing from the room. Sasuke stretched and stood up slowly, before getting dressed. He headed out to follow her down the hallway, hurrying to her side as he saw her lifting two heavy paint cans. He took one, ignoring her protests and headed into the next room, which was bare. Sakura set down the paint can and looked around, nodding.

"We have enough to cover the walls. I also purchased a small tube of red and white paint, I want to do a little Uchiha fan.. right over where the crib would be.." She held up her hands, as if to mentally take in the location of the crib and how big the fan should be. Sasuke's eyes softened as he watched his wife calculate her work, before bending down and cracking open the paint can. He rolled out the old sheet to cover the floor and reached for a large roller. Sakura took an adjacent one and opened the other paint can, pouring some out into a tray.

"I liked the color, it's like a light navy blue, but it doesn't scream gender stereotypes, hm?" Sasuke chuckled.

They began to paint the same wall closest to the window, and Sakura began to hum to end the silence. She was almost done with the song, when she bit her lip and thought of something to say.

"Ah, so you really want to stick with Kenji?" Sasuke continued painting, but turned to his wife, casting her a small glance. He shrugged.

"It's a very smooth name, and it has a ring to it." He commented, and finished his side to the window in the middle of the wall. Sakura followed suit and stood there, roller in hand, staring at their pristine handiwork. She took a deep breath in.

"I..I sort of liked the name Shishui.." She took in a breath and closed her eyes, waiting for her husband's irritated or hurt answer. His breath hitched, but he remained silent. Sakura cracked open an eye and stared at him. His lips were parted, head looking down at the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. The roller hung limply in his hand.

"I mean", Sakura continued quickly, trying to explain the reason for her bringing up an ancestor of Sasuke's, "the name isn't exactly masculine, or feminine, and it has a nice sound to it, and I would like to honor those who fought for good and not bad in your ancestry, and he was a strong, very loved man-"

"Yes." Sasuke agreed to her comments. Sakura swallowed. She put her brush down and headed over to her husband, putting her hand on his arm gently. He lifted his head and turned to her, and she could see a flicker of tears in the corners of his eyes, though his face was grave. He nodded.

"Shisui Uchiha." He agreed, and Sakura smiled gently. She flung her arms around him, and Sasuke pulled his arms around her, his lips kissing the crown of her head, and then her forehead.

"Alright", Sakura said, as she pulled away from her husband, wiping her tears, "lets finish this room." Sasuke kissed her on the head and nodded.

They finished the walls quite quickly, and Sakura began working on the small Uchiha fan. She gently brushed on the white paint in the shape of the bottom and handle of the fan and then applied the red to round the top of it. When she was done, the fan was beautiful against the navy blue of the wall. Sakura laughed happily and lifted her paint stained hand in victory, still clutching the thin brush. As she did, an arm snaked around her waist, and a hand gripped hers over the paint brush. Lips met her ear.

"You forgot something.." Sasuke whispered airily into her ear, and Sakura shivered. Gently, he led her hand to dip the paintbrush into the white paint, and then pulled it out, facing it towards the wall. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Sasue-kun, what are you doi-"

He cut her off as he quickly, and perfectly, drew a thick lined circle around the Uchiha fan. And then Sakura giggled, realizing that he just placed the Haruno clan symbol around the Uchiha's. She blushed as Sasuke's hand retracted from hers and placed itself on the other side of her waist.

"W-Well.." She started but Sasuke chuckled.

"Even if you are _Uchiha Sakura_ now, it was Haruno Sakura who never let me go from her embrace, and brought me out of the darkness." He said gently, and Sakura's eyes watered. Sasuke's hands snaked around her and cupped her bulging belly, his thumbs stroking the material of her shirt tenderly. Sakura's eyes closed, as did Sasuke's, and they both exhaled silently. Sakura coughed.

"A-Ah, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn?"

"Can..Can we finish this moment in another room? The smell of fresh paint is making me dizzy."

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><p><strong>AN: **_Day Two: Late coming soon!_


	2. II

**A/N:** _Yay, day two! Okay this one will be a little shorter than the first one, but yeah. Day Three: Phobia, coming soon and it should be longer, I have a larger idea for it. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>II. Late<strong>

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><p>It was too late.<p>

His foot propelled a small stone across the large park, watching as it dived into the lake water with a small _plop!_, and obsidian, furious eyes narrowed. Back muscles tensed, and he could feel his nails cutting into his palms. His free hand clenched tighter into a small fist. With one step, he turned and pivoted himself in the opposite direction. His other hand, the one clutching stems, without a glance, threw the roses into the bushes, forgotten.

Unneeded.

He shoved his clenched palms into his pockets and walked slowly, angrily towards the small apartment he called his.

After he had delivered the roses into the appropriate arms, he had planned on opening the Uchiha compound back up for living. It seemed appropriate for his second goal. So to speak. He stopped in front of his front door, and stared at the mahogany.

"To _fucking_ late." He spat, and lowered his head, letting the crown of his dark locks hit the door with a _thud!_

When he woke up today, it was sunny, but not too hot, not too overbearing. Perfect for what he had in mind as a task. He had quickly snuck into Ino's Flower Shop without being seen by his other friends and purchased the roses. He had ignored Ino's raised eyebrow and glances, and assumed she just thought he was buying to take to his parents' gravestones.

"Who's the lucky lady?" Ino had chided with him happily, and he ignored it, shoving the appropriate coinage onto the counter to pay for the flowers.

"Hn." He took the flowers and left, not giving the blonde enough time to comment anymore. He headed straight towards the park, towards the bridge that Team Seven had made a name for meeting at. He was swift footed, his steps telling him that he was giddy, perhaps even very happy. But his face was the picture of no emotion. His right hand clutched the stems closer, ignoring the small sweat braking out in his palms. He shoved his other hand in his pockets.

When he had reached the bridge's entrance, he had stopped, as he caught a flash of pink. He shallowed. This was it. He began walking once more, this time slower, more steady, as he tried to control his rapidly beating heart. He swallowed.

"Sakura, I-" He started, and then stopped.

As he got closer, shots of pink turned into black, and then pale skin. She had her back to him and was leaning up against the bridge, her porcelain arm supporting her weight. He could hear her giggle, and by her body language, she was interested in the sight before her. He took in the person facing her, the exposed, pale abdomen, black outfit, short, straight black hair and pale face. He almost glared at the smile on the man's face.

She laughed at the man in front of her, and her free hand came out between the two conversing and she placed her fingers on his stomach, giving him a small push. The man laughed back and rubbed the back of his neck, a small blush on his cheeks.

Sasuke had swallowed heavily, and resisted the urge to activate his Rinnegan and rid himself of the sight before him.

"So, let's do dinner tonight, Sak." Sai said, a small blush still forming on his cheeks. Sasuke heard Sakura giggle, and it almost sounded.. awkward? He didn't hear any more, before he turned around and promptly walked away, tossing the roses into the bushes as he did.

He was too late. She had moved on.

He slammed his head back against his apartment door and let out a loud growl. He could feel his Sharingan burning in the back of his corneas. He calmed himself down slightly and opened the door, slamming it behind him. He stood in the doorway, and looked around him. His hands grabbed the nearest object, nothing but a regular kunai and he slammed it into the entrance way wall, ignoring the loud crack and the now hole clad tear. Then he collapsed on his bed, and placed his hands in his palms.

Sakura had moved on.

What was he to do now?

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><p><em>"So, let's do dinner tonight, Sak." Sai said, a small blush still forming on his cheeks. Sakura giggled awkwardly. <em>

She placed her hands behind her back and looked down at her shinobi sandals, swallowing.

"Ah.. Sai, you're a great guy, and you're one of my closest guy friends, I just don't want to hurt you, I like you, Sai, you're boyfriend material, really.. but I-" She took a breath and exhaled, blushing deeply.

"I'm still in love with Sasuke." She admitted and looked up at Sai. He shrugged and touched her arm gently, a small smile still on his pale lips.

"Hey, it's alright. It was only a suggestion. Let's get this training done and forget I asked you, okay?" Sakura hugged the man, and Sai hugged her back gently. She wiped away a stray tear, and nodded. In the back of her mind, she still thought about Sasuke. She bit her lip, hoping he would show up soon for the team training meeting, so she could talk to him.

When Sasuke didn't show up for the team meeting, Naruto worriedly looked from Kakashi to Sakura and then back to Kakashi. He shrugged.

"I'll go look for the teme, Kakashi-sensei-" Sakura placed her hand gently on Naruto's arm.

"No, I'll go. I have to talk to Sasuke anyways.." She murmured, and headed off towards his apartment, before anyone could stop her. She got to his door, and hesitated. She nervously and quickly knocked, hearing the hollow rapping through the door. There was creaking, and then shuffling, and then the door opened very slowly. A haggard looking Sasuke peeked out, saw who it was and his eyes narrowed.

"What?" He said icily, a twinge of hurt in his tone. Sakura tensed and bit her lip.

"Ah.. you missed practice, and I thought we could talk about some things, Sasuke-kun.." The door swung open quickly, and she was ushered inside. Sasuke slammed the door behind her and headed past her. He collapsed onto the edge of his unmade bed and refused to meet her eyes. Sakura blushed, ignoring the unmade bed and head towards him, stopping short. She bit her lip.

How was she supposed to tell the man that she loved that she still had feelings for him?

In her mind, she ran through various scenarios involving the impossible, probable and possible, before throwing her ideas out of her mind and shrugging. Screw it. She would just say it.

"I'm still in love with you." She admitted quietly and looked down. She felt his head snap up, his eyes on her bent head. She heard him intake a very quiet breath and then exhale.

"I thought I was too late." He said in a cracked, very broken voice. Her eyes widened, but her head refused to look up and meet his eyes.

And then Sakura was enveloped in a warm pair of arms.


	3. III

**A/N: **_It's hella hard to get into a mood to write something dark now. It came so easily to write Empire damnit._

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><p><strong>III. phobia<strong>

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><p><em>He heard the Chidori birds coming from his hands, the bright light of his lightning illuminating the view around him. He took in the trembling of her shoulders, the cream color of her cape, the red stripes across it, her bubblegum pink hair. He ignored the continuous pain coming from his scratches, bruises and muscles. The blood seeping down his eye was also ignored. He watched her back rise and fall in nervous breaths, her fingers shake as she lifted the kunai in her hand. <em>

_What the hell was he doing? He thought aimlessly, as he raised up his Chidori closer to her back, slowly, steadily. Without regret._

_She swung round as she heard the birds, her previous mission forgotten, his teammate lying in a pool of her own blood behind them. Sasuke raised his arm closer to her, ready to shove the lightning through her. To end her. _

_"Sasuke..ku-" She started, but it was too late. _

_This time, there was no Naruto, no Kakashi to save her from her doom. _

_His hand cleanly cut through her chest, her warm blood splattering onto his face, mixing with his own. He shed no tears. She shed them all._

Sasuke shot up in bed and panted heavily, feeling sweat drip down his neck. He braced his palms on the mattress and willed himself to calm his breathing, looking around the darkened room. His eyes caught sight of a mass of pink locks on the pillow beside him, her face turned away from him, her breathing light. Innocent.

He lifted a hand to pull his arm across his forehead wiping away sweat and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling the covers away from his body. He hoisted himself up silently and headed into the bathroom, quietly closing the door. He immediately looked at his reflection in the mirror, half expecting to see blood dripping down his eye, Rinnegan blazing, Chidori in his palm.

Instead he saw dark circles, clammy skin and parted lips in harsh breathing. He calmed down and ran the tap water, splashing his face quickly and repeatedly. He looked back at himself as he dried off his face with a towel, taking in the sight. He headed back to the bedroom, mind trying to push away the dark thoughts he had previously conjured up with his memories. He slid into bed beside her, and pulled the covers up gently to her shoulders, before lying on his side, watching her. Her back rose and fell in small breaths, arms pulled around her pillow.

He never told her about his nightmares, nor did he plan to.

They never spoke of the past.

If she remembered the times when he has aimed to kill her, with nothing stopping him, she didn't show it or bring it up. And if she was affected by it, she never showed it. She returned home every day with a smile on her face, and warmth in her heart. She was never sad, only happy to have her Sasuke back in her arms once more. He didn't bring it up either, he was scared to. It was a phobia.

He was well aware that he had hurt her, and planned to never dwell on it, even if it did haunt him every night. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

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><p>When he awoke groggily the next morning, she was gone from the bed, her warmth diminished to the cool sheets. He cracked open his eyes and frowned, pulling the sheet over his eyes to shield himself from the sunlight beaming in through the opened curtains. Then, he heard her voice.<p>

"Sasuke-kun! Time to get up!" She called from the kitchen, and he sighed.

She was too happy. Too innocent. Too forgetful of who he used to be.

He didn't want to ever admit it, but he was in a clear mindset back then. Both memories were clear, vivid, accounted for. He got out of bed slowly and pulled o a shirt, heading into the kitchen with a yawn. He was silent as he sat down at the table, and he felt her press a kiss to his forehead warmly. He said nothing, but stared at the wall. He knew what he would find if he looked at her. Love and kindness. No traces of sadness, darkness.

She was so innocent. So forgetful. He bit his lip, trying not to dwell on his nightmare, but was unable to.

"I picked up some tomatoes from the market this morning." She chatted happily and sliced up said red fruit, putting it on a plate and put it down in front of him. Her hand lingered on his shoulder, giving his skin a warm squeeze, before she turned her back to him, humming as she made some coffee.

She loved him. And that was all that mattered. But did he love her back? He swallowed.

He had decided that he did not deserve to be able to say he loved her back by how he had treated her in the past. Most of all, he didn't deserve _her._ But here she was, happily humming in his kitchen, oblivious to how he was ripping himself apart inside over past events.

What if Kakashi hadn't been there to deflect his Chidori? Or Naruto hadn't swept her away from him as the kunai was ready to slice her neck open?

He hated to think about it. It scared him. Such possibilities brought back his darkness. Sakura was still oblivious, as she went about her happy life, accepting her boyfriend's silence as his usual manner, ignorant of the internal conflict he got himself caught up in.

He spent the day training, throwing his chakra around at trees, the ground, dummies, _anything. _Anything but her. He wanted to train himself to control his urges, control his anger. So that never again would he hurt her. He wanted to render himself empty of darkness. She was his light, and slowly he was coming out of the shadows, not including his nightmares. He was scared.

When he returned that night, tired, battered and aching, she was waiting for him with another pot of coffee and a warm plate of food. He ate quietly, listening as she chatted away about her day, her smile never leaving her face.

When they crawled into bed that night, she turned to him, pressed her lips to his cheek and nestled into his arm. He flinched, not wanting to get any closer to her, not wanting to _hurt _her. Kami, he was loosing his mind. He willed himself to sleep out of sheer exhaustion from training, letting himself lull out of consciousness to the steady rhythm of her breathing. Then, he was gone.

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><p><em>He remembered the familiar ache in his muscles, and the drain of his chakra to the bottoms of his feet as he perched himself on the water. In front of him was Kakashi, a distance away. Sakura, he knew, was a safe distance away, he could sense her on the bridge above, among the debris and the dying chakra of his teammate. He channeled his energy into the sharp pain in his right eye, feeling the dried blood increase on his cheekbone. He was unaware of her approaching. <em>

_Like a swift breeze, she was behind him, kunai drawn, ready to kill. He saw Kakashi's gaze change from in front of him and his stance flinch to move, and Sasuke knew. He swung around, meeting her sad gaze, knowing what she was about to do. Her kunai inched closer._

_He knew it took all of her broken heart to do this. In instinct, he reacted. His hand flew out to grip her by the neck tightly, pulling her up. She gasped in a breath, fingers clutching his wrist, trying to writhe free. Kakashi was approaching behind him. His other hand yanked the kunai from her, spun it around and was ready to drag it across her neck, ready to see the blood spill. _

_Naruto did not come. _

_Kakashi was too late._

_She was already bleeding, warm liquid seeping onto his hand. She was gone. _

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><p>Sasuke awoke in a loud growl, that almost formed a scream. His eyes shot open, corneas burning and he gripped the sheets around him. He tried to calm down, finding it impossible. A warm body turned on the bed beside him, eyes opening, emerald orbs filled with worry. Warm fingers clasped his arm, fingers gracing his cheek.<p>

"Sasuke-kun, what is it?" She whispered, her lips pouting. He ignored her, intent on pushing back the dark memories, trying to clear his mind. He swallowed a heavy lump in his throat and gasped out a breath. He remained silent, ignoring her squeezes to his bicep.

"Sasuke-" She started once more, but he cut her off.

"_Please_." He pleaded, willing her to stop, and she closed her mouth, both of her hands now cupping his cheeks. She stroked the clammy skin, and silently waited for him to speak again. Suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her, burying his head into her neck, clutching her shirt like his life depended on it.

"I don't want to loose you." He said hoarsely, and her hands stroked his hair.

"You won't." She promised. He bit his lip, his eyes scrunched shut.

"What if they hadn't been there to save you? To keep you from being killed by me?" He asked into her shirt, arms tightening around her. At first, she remained silent, confused, unaware. But then, slowly, she realized what he was saying, bringing herself back into the past. She took in a shallow breath, tears forming in her eyes. For the first time in a long time, she began to cry.

"I don't know." She said honestly. Sadly. His eyes brimmed with tears, vision blurry.

"That wasn't you back then. It wasn't you." She continued honestly. Positively. Trying to bring him back into the light.

"No." He agreed. But was it? He didn't dwell upon it.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. And he felt her smile.

"I love you." She said, confidently. Happily. For the first time, he felt like she deserved to hear it back. He deserved her, he _was worth it. _The three words came back to her from his lips softly, and she cried again, this time warmly. And she brought him back into the light. Shadows faded.

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><p><strong>AN: **_Ah, I thought this would turn out better but blah, I have severe writers block with darker fic right now. Oh well. Yeah, Day 4: There was no warning coming soon.__  
><em>


	4. IV

**A/N:** _Yay onto Day 4. And I'm only..two days late! Double yay. And it should be short! Even more yays because I'm tired. _

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><p><strong>IV. there was no warning<strong>

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><p>"Meet my parents."<p>

There was no warning. Sasuke choked on the small piece of tomato he had been chewing on, his hands gripping his throat as he gagged, grasping for breath. His girlfriend; his loving, _caring_, girlfriend stood in front of him, tapping her foot, her hands on her hips, as she stood there, watching him choke on the tomato piece.

Clearly, Haruno Sakura was having none of Uchiha Sasuke's shit today.

She waited patiently and quietly as he gasped for breath one more and hacked up the small piece of fruit, coughing loudly. She crossed her arms, waiting for him to speak now.

"No." He said in a rasped tone, setting the piece down on a napkin. He slowly bit into the fruit, continuing to eat like nothing had happened. Sakura frowned and tapped her foot again.

"We've been dating for a year." She started, her tone matter of factly. Sasuke continued to eat his tomato.

"Yes." He agreed between bites.

"We're very serious about our relationship." She continued.

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, chewing a large chunk of tomato.

"And so, it's time that you meet my parents." Sasuke refrained from choking again.

"No." He swallowed heavily, and Sakura frowned, resuming her foot tapping. He tried not to make eye contact with her as he finished his snack, knowing that if he did, he would be done for. He licked his fingers, knowing Sakura was watching him. In the back of his mind, he hoped she would be so turned on that she would just drop the subject entirely. But lo and behold, Sakura was determined to get her way. She crossed her arms tighter.

"We're going over for dinner tonight." Sasuke choked on his saliva, and coughed once more. He reached for his glass of water, but Sakura beat him too it, holding it out of his reach. He scowled, trying to control his coughing and cleared his throat.

"We go or no sex for a month." She cautioned him threateningly.

And that was how Uchiha Sasuke found himself wrestled into a monkey suit of a tux and dropped outside the Haruno household beside a smiling Sakura.

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><p>She knocked happily on the door, smile never leaving her eyes, cheeks or lips, as she gripped her boyfriends arm gently.<p>

"Be nice. Form complete sentences." She mouthed to him between her teeth, and Sasuke grunted. The door opened slowly, and Sakura's mother flew out to fling her arms around her daughter. She wiped away her tears and clutched her tightly, pulling away to get a good look at her daughter.

"Hi, mom." Sakura smiled and pulled away from her as her mother kissed her head. Sasuke felt eyes on him, and his lips attempted to twitch up into the form of a smile. It didn't work, and instead, he chose a small smirk.

"Sasuke-san!" Haruno Mebuki wrapped Sasuke in a tight hug and he patted her back awkwardly, as she pulled away. She smiled warmly, and let the two into the house. Sakura slipped her hand into Sasuke's, a smile still on her lips. Sadly, the worst had yet to come. Suddenly, Sakura's hand slipped from his and she ran past him and into a pair of large arms. Sasuke's lip twitched as she squealed.

"Daddy!" Papa Haruno held his daughter, smiling happily as he did and Sasuke fought the urge to gag.

_Think of nice things, think of nice things, puppies and rainbows and-_

"So.. you're the infamous Uchiha Sasuke." Papa Haruno started and Sasuke swallowed.

Shit.

He bowed politely, and Sakura led her mother into the kitchen, chatting happily, intentionally leaving Sasuke with her father in the living room. Papa Haruno huffed and sat down on the couch, folding his arms. He nodded for Sasuke to take a seat across from him.

"The tea, Mebuki!" He called happily into the kitchen.

"Coming, dear!" Came the reply. Sasuke swallowed and fought the urge to tug at his shirt collar. Papa Haruno raised an eyebrow at the young man in front of him, looking him over, taking in every small detail he saw. Sasuke huffed out a breath.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, Uchiha." Kizashi said pleasantly, but Sasuke swallowed. _It's a trap! _his mind screamed. He pushed his thoughts aside, and opened his mouth to speak, ignoring his clammy palms. He rubbed them on his legs.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I am twenty years old, and I am in love with your daughter." Was all he could think of. Kizashi popped a vein.

"You're too young to be in love." He said plainly and looked to his wife as she served tea, handing the two males each a cup. Kizashi sipped his pleasantly. Sasuke gulped and held his cup on his knee.

"I-I love her." He tried again, but Kizashi snorted.

"What can you offer my daughter that others can't?" He continued, changing the subject. His eyes met Sasuke's and the younger man quickly looked away, sipping his tea.

"My love." He offered, and mentally smacked himself. Kizashi snorted once more.

"Financially I meant, boy." Sasuke sighed, relieved. Financials. Right he could do this.

"The Uchiha clan is rich, and I will have no problem supporting Sakura and I and our children." Kizashi choked on his tea.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. _

"_C-CHILDREN_?" He stammered, and Sasuke's eyes widened. _More shits._

_"Y-YOU'RE PLANNING TO IMPREGNATE MY DARLING SAKURA-HIME?" _Kizashi screamed, and Sasuke's eye twitched, scared. How was Sakura _not _hearing this from the kitchen and objecting? He opened his mouth to fix his "mistake".

"I meant that when we are married, and start a family-" He started, but Kizashi cut him off with a large, girlish, scream.

"M-MARRIED?" He spluttered. Sasuke wanted to shove a kunai down his throat. This was going bad. Very bad. He looked towards the kitchen, seeing Sakura or her mother no where to be found. He finally tugged at his shirt collar, and set his tea cup down on the coffee table, pushing it as far from Kizashi's reach as possible. Just in case. He opened his mouth once more to elaborate, but Kizashi's face said it all.

"MEBUKI!" He yelled, and his wife popped her head around the kitchen doorway happily.

"Yes, dear?"

"GET THE BUTCHER KNIFE FROM THE KITCHEN!"

Sasuke flew up out of his seat and put his hands up, eyes wide.

"Haruno-san, I meant no harm by my words, I really do love your daughter, and plan to propose to her soon, I-"

"HOW DO I KNOW YOU DON'T HAVE AIDS?" Kizashi yelled and Sasuke stopped short, completely confused.

"What the hell?" He said, and Sakura finally appeared from the kitchen, putting a hand to her father's arm. She calmed him down slowly, and he collapsed on the couch, breathing heavily. Sasuke sighed and took his place back in the arm chair, picking his teacup back up, finishing the warm drink. Sakura sat down next to her father on the couch, her hand on his knee.

"Daddy, I love Sasuke. I'm very serious about him." Kizashi's eye twitched.

"I guess he is better than that rascal horndog Haru you brought round here when you were seventeen." He muttered, and Sasuke's eyebrow shot up. He made mental note to ask Sakura about this Haru later on. Sakura smiled and nodded gently.

"I'm sorry, Haruno-san." Sasuke said slowly, waiting for the attack, but Kizashi was silent, calm. He nodded promptly.

"When will I be expecting the wedding then?" Sakura choked.

"_W-Wedding?" _

* * *

><p>"I think that went very well." Sakura mused, as they walked home later that night, her fingers intertwined with Sasuke's. He smirked, and rubbed his shoulder.<p>

"Up until he hit me with the cricket bat, yes." Sakura giggled.

"That's what you get for mentioning our lack of celibacy." Sasuke blushed and kissed his girlfriend's forehead. Her eyes closed.

"So when _is_ the wedding?" She whispered, and Sasuke choked on his spit, coughing. He pulled his lips from her head and gasped for breath. Sakura giggled.

"I'm only kidding." She kissed his lips and continued walking. Sasuke sighed, relieved. He had already started planning his proposal, but he wasn't ready just yet. Not until he had more time to get used to Sakura's homicidal father.

"As long as you get his blessing first, Sasuke-kun!" She piped up cheerily, and Sasuke's eyes widened, and he choked once more.

_Oh hell no. _


	5. V

**A/N: **_Thought I'd do a little blast from the past with an older event yay. Sorry it's a little short, I didn't really know what to put._

* * *

><p><strong>V. Keepsake<strong>

* * *

><p>Tears streamed down her face. Her porcelain hands clutch each other, her feet light on the pavement. From his stance in front of her, he could tell she had her head down, trying to stop herself from crying, and her sniffing was becoming obvious now. He took a step forward and began walking away from her once more. She began to babble, speaking of the first time he called her 'annoying' and the moments after, memories, keepsakes, friendships. He continued walking.<p>

With small _plops! _her tears fell down onto the pavement at her feet. He listened to the sound of his own footsteps, when her voice cut through the silence.

"Seeking revenge won't bring anyone happiness." She said gently, and he stopped short, eyes trained down at his feet. She saw his stopped movements and continued.

"Not you.. not me.. not anyone.." She murmured, and continued to let her tears slip down her cheeks. He fought the urge to smirk.

"I knew it." He said. She gasped in a small breath, and her eyes were trained on his back.

Words flew out of his mouth, words that were so clear to him, so _right_, and he just let them form perfectly. She was silence behind him, and he heard her lips part in a small intake of breath. She couldn't understand his burden. He honestly did believe that at one time, he wouldn't seek out revenge and he could just have a life here, in Konaha. But it was short lived. He finished his small speech and was silent again. That was all he owed her. Nothing more.

"I'll never be like you and Naruto." Finished promptly, coldly. She gasped in a breath once more.

"Don't do this, Sasuke, you don't have to be alone!" She cried out, tears still forming in her eyes. "You told me that day how painful a thing solitude could be." She continued, her voice unwaivering, steady. Confident. A ghost of a smirk crossed his lips, but disappeared instantly.

"I understand that pain now. I have a family.. and friends..but if you were gone, Sasuke, it would be the same thing for me! As being all alone.." Her voice began to crack, sobs forming between her syllables. He heard her take a step towards him. This had gone on far too long now. He looked at the ground through a half lidded gaze, his mind going back to memories of their team, happy memories. He pushed it back quickly, gritting his teeth.

"This is a new beginning." He said, and went on, hearing her listen to him once more, sobs compressed by her hands to her chest, throat heavily. There was a moment of silence, before she spoke again, her foot clicking on the pavement as she took another step towards him. Her voice once more, was confident. Unwaivering. Loving.

"I'm so in love with you, I can't even stand it!" She cried, and his eyes widened only slightly. He regained his cold appearance, and remained motionless, as she continued. If he would only be with her, she promised, still confident, he wouldn't regret it, he would be happy. And if he couldn't stay with her, she pleaded between sobs, he should take her with him. His eyes narrowed. Now, it was time to go. There was another silent moment, filed with just Sakura's sobs and sniffs, and he knew that fresh tears stained her porcelain cheeks. His voice cut through the air like a knife, and her eyes widened.

"You haven't changed," he started coldly, a smirk on his handsome features, before turning his neck to face her, "you're still annoying." She gasped. He started to walk away again, getting farther away from her with every step. He was only a few ahead, when her scream cut through the air and she made to follow after him, to stop him.

"Don't leave me!" She cried loudly, "if you go, I'll scream and-" In an instant he was behind her, and she stopped in her place, words gone from her throat. He could see that she was shaking and her lips opened in a breathless noise.

"Sakura", he started gentler this time, his eyes on the back of her head, on those pink locks he had come to adore so. But now everything was different.

"Thank you for everything." He said slowly, and she gasped, her head snapping up. He knew her eyes were wide, brimming with more tears. She was silent, even as he pressed his two fingers into the nerve bundle at the back of her neck. She let out a small mewl of breath, that sounded like his name, and her eyes closed, legs collapsing from under her. He caught her, hands going under her legs and back, and laid her down on the bench.

He stared at her calm features, and then her tear stained face. He reached down and set her arm gently on the bench beside her from where it had been hanging off of the edge of the stone. His index finger ghosted over her forehead, the large, creamy skin catching his eye, and down her nose. He was about to turn and leave, when he hesitated, his eyes on the trail of tears down her cheeks. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped the tears from under her eyes, and then pulled away turning and walking off.

As he made his way out of the gates of Konaha, he lifted his thumb to his lips, letting the salty water residue touch his mouth airily. In his mind, he said her name, and pulled his thumb away from his lips, her tears still on his skin. Until he returned, it would be enough of a keepsake of what used to be.


	6. VI

**A/N: **_RATED M JUST IN CASE. But there is NO LEMON here, but yeah. I rated it M for partial Lime(y) citations, but there's nothing too obscene. *wink*_

* * *

><p><strong>VI. Night In<strong>

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh, Sa-su-ke-kun.." <em>Came a seductive call from the other side of the Uchiha compound. Sasuke's lips twitched in anticipation.. along with other body parts. He swallowed and quickly set his scroll down, hurrying out of his office to the kitchen where his wife was perched at the table rubbing her ankles, sandals discarded. He bent down and kissed her forehead, grabbing her sandals to put them away. She giggled at his generosity and stood up, stretching.

"Mmnf.. where's Itachi-kun?" Sasuke's muscles tensed at her pet name for their son. It had taken a while, but he was slowly getting used to having another Uchiha Itachi in the house. He smiled and came back over to his wife. He sat down in the chair closest to where she was standing and reached out to grip her waist. He pulled her onto his lap, ignoring her yelp of surprise. His lips found the warm skin of her exposed neck, nose pushing aside her medical coat and blouse.

"Naruto and Hinata are babysitting him." Sakura sighed, and wrapped her arms around her husbands neck, leaning her cheek on his head.

"I'm not really up to doing a night out today, Sasuke-kun, can we-"

"I already started the fireplace." He murmured into her skin and she let out a moan of appreciation.

"How romantic.." She trailed off, her hands raking through his locks. He bit back a moan and pressed her closer to him, fingers playing with the waistband of her skirt, slowly pulling her tucked in shirt out of it. He tried to act like he hadn't planned this night out for ages.

"I'm going to shower first, and I'll meet you back down here." She said quietly, and pulled herself away from Sasuke, much to his distaste. He bit his lip and stood up, watching his wife's back as she sauntered away to the bathroom. He heard the shower water running and dashed to the linen closet in the hall, yanking the bed mat,pillows and blankets out of it. He walked into the living room where the fire was already illuminating on the couches in the corners of the room and laid out the bed mat. He pulled the blankets over it and then used his jutsu to add a bit more fire to the burning wood.

He looked around him, satisfied and dimmed the lights, before disappearing back into the hallway, headed for the bedroom. He pulled his shirt over his head and adjusted his pants, looking at himself in Sakura's vanity mirror. He sat on the bed and waited for her to come out of the shower. When she did, she emerged wrapped in a fluffy white towel, wet hair tied up in another towel. She smiled at her husband as she passed him, going to her drawers.

He gave her some privacy and went back into the living room, adjusting the sleeping mat and turning the logs on the fire. He heard the hairdryer start and rolled his eyes. Sakura was always one to do her hair perfectly for any occasion. Ten minutes in, he heard the floorboards behind him creak and he turned, staring at his wife in the doorway.

"How sweet of you, Sasuke-kun.." She murmured, taking in the small bed he had arranged out for them, her lips upturned in a sultry smile. Sasuke swallowed. She was clad in only her sheer silk bathrobe (the one he had gotten her for Christmas a few years back), the red material catching the porcelain cream of her skin. He had even made sure they put the Uchiha clan symbol on the back of it. She swung the black tie around in her hand, winking at him. He swallowed heavier and stood up where he was, hands hanging limply at his side.

He commemorated his choice in robes mentally. The silk material left no room for the imagination.

She sauntered over to him, her footsteps light on the floor, lips curved in a cheshire like grin. She shook out her long, now dry, hair, shooting him a long gaze through half lidded eyes. When she was in front of him, she placed a free hand to his chest, warm fingers pushing him down to lie on the sleeping mat. He fell with a thump among the blankets and pillows and propped himself up on his elbows. She stood over him, eyes looking down into his, her tongue snaking out to lick her bottom lip. Sasuke swallowed again and let out a breath.

Slowly, she took a step towards him and lowered herself into a crouch over his hips, the robe pulling aside at her movements. Her fingers ran across his abs, hair falling onto his chest in a ticklish manner. Her lips found the skin of his solar plexus, lapping it like a cat. Sasuke shuddered and gripped her hips, fingers digging into the robe's soft material.

"A-ah.." He let his head fall back against the pillows, lips parted in a pant. She giggled against his warm skin, fingers darting down to the waistband of his pants, and then back up to his collarbones. Her tongue trailed across his chest to his shoulder, biting and nipping at the area. Sasuke grunted, pressing his hands into her hips, making her move closed to him. He was engulfed in the fan of her hair, face buried into his chest, and he inhaled the scent of mint.

She slowly slid forward in her crouch, lower back arching upwards as her head moved towards his. She captured his lips between her teeth and snuck her tongue between his parted lips. He kissed back hungrily, hands pressing up her back to her shoulder blades, before running back down to her ass, cupping and kneading the flesh. She moaned against his lips, pelvis grinding against his.

Her knees squeezed his sides, feeling his hands push her to grind against him, creating a slow, painful pace. She huffed out, her eyes half open, lips pulling from his. She continued to grind against him, pulling herself into a sitting position above him, her fingers running up to her hair. Her eyes never left his, and he groaned, when she ran her hands through her hair, and down her face, stopping at her lips. She placed her thumb on her lower lip, tongue snaking out to lick the skin. Sasuke panted and pushed her to go faster against him, fingers digging into her ass.

They both blushed hard, and the friction began getting to much for them, and Sasuke quickly flipped them over, hitching Sakura's thigh around his waist. His fingers found the ties of her robe and his lips slammed onto hers, breathing heavily.

"Sasuke-kun.." She whimpered, her eyes closing, hair fanning out around her as she felt him undo her robe, pulling the material aside.

"Sakura.." He panted back and pressed his lips to her collarbones, trailing them down her chest and stomach. She gripped his hair, wrapping both of her legs around him. He shifted between her legs so that he was kneeling above her, her lower half sloped up to wrap around his hips at an angle and leaned down to kiss her. Her hands found the hem of his pants, pulling the material aside. He pulled her up to sit in his lap, fingers pushing the robe down her shoulders and off of her. She blushed and continued to yank his pants aside, freeing him.

She leaned over and kissed the deep blush on his cheeks, hands gripping his base. His breath hitched and he gripped her waist, pressing her closer to her, trapping her hands between them in his lap. His hips bucked against her hand, panting harder.

Then there was a faint knocking at the Uchiha compound door. Sakura jumped, pulling her hands away from her husband and reached for her robe, slipping her arms through it. Sasuke growled and held her there.

"Leave it." He whispered hoarsely, trying to get comfortable, but Sakura wriggled in his lap (causing even _more _discomfort) and pulled herself off of his lap. She quickly did up her robe and fixed her hair.

"It could be important, Sasuke-kun!" She scolded him and disappeared into the hallway. Sasuke growled loudly and fixed himself, pulling his pants back up as he stood. He tried to calm down his raging hard on, but gave up, wrapping one of the small blankets around his hips. He followed his wife to the doorway, and stood behind it as she opened the door.

A small boy toddled in, running over to Sakura, clutching her leg.

"Mommy!" Her eyes brightened and she bent down to pick up the three year old, smacking a large kiss onto his cheek.

"Hi, baby." She said warmly and jiggled him on her hip, earning a giggle from Itachi. Sasuke looked out of the door and found Naruto and Hinata standing there, looking guilty.

"What happened to babysitting?" He hissed at his best friend, and Naruto laughed, rubbing his neck awkwardly. He threw an arm around his wife, and Hinata blushed, bowing slightly at Sasuke and Sakura.

"Gomen, Itachi really wanted to come home early and play with you both." Sasuke's hand stroked the top of Itachi's head tenderly, fingers running through the short, soft tuffs of hair. He shot Naruto another dirty look, and Sakura patted her husbands chest, smiling at Hinata.

"Thank you, Hinata." She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Hinata and then Naruto's cheeks. Hinata blushed and her hand fell to her pregnant stomach.

"We'll be going now, have a nice night guys!" Naruto said warmly and turned Hinata away from the two to leave. Sakura waved and Sasuke shot Naruto another look, and Naruto turned around while walking away. He pointed to his crotch and then Sasuke and made a rude gesture. Sasuke scowled and slammed the door, turning to his wife and son.

Sakura cradled Itachi's head to her shoulder, hearing him let out small breaths as he slowly fell asleep. She smiled at her husband and kissed his lips.

"Let's put him to bed and continue with what we were doing, ne?" She whispered into his ear and Sasuke smirked. He put an arm around his wife and kissed Itachi's head, leading them towards Itachi's bedroom. Sakura laid the him down in his bed and tucked the covers around him, kissing his cheek. He giggled and snuggled into his blankets. She stood up and pressed a hand to her husband's shoulder, her eyes half lidded.

Sasuke quickly kissed his son's head once more and went to follow her out of the room, when Itachi's small voice stopped him.

"Daddy, can you read me a story?" Itachi rubbed his eyes with his small knuckles, and Sasuke's eyes softened. He sent his wife a glance, and she leaned up against the doorway as Sasuke went to his son's bed, sitting on the edge. Itachi stood up and scambled into Sasuke's lap, Sasuke's arms wrapping around him.

"How about the story of how Uncle Naruto, mommy and daddy tried to figure out what Uncle Kakashi's face looked like?"

"Yeah!" Itachi giggled, kicking his legs out, and Sakura smiled, holding a hand to her lips. Soon enough, Itachi was fast asleep against Sasuke's chest, and Sasuke laid him back under the covers, tucking him in. He kissed his head and led Sakura out of the room, closing the door quietly as he did.

"Shall we continue?" He murmured into his wife's hair, hand straying from her waist to her behind as he led her to the living room. She giggled and nodded.

"Perhaps." He laid her down on the mat and covered her with his warm weight. She untied the blanket from his hips with a laugh and tossed it aside. He braced himself on his hands on the mattress, and Sakura pulled his head down to hers in a tender kiss.

"I'm so glad we decided to have a night in." She whispered against his lips and he smirked.

He was just about to untie his wife's robe once more, when a small voice came from down the hall.

"Mommy? Can I have some water? I'm thirsty!" Sasuke sighed, and pulled away from his wife, rubbing his cheek. She chuckled and got up, adjusting her robe.

"Coming, sweetie!" She called and stood in front of her husband, bending down to press a heated kiss to his lips, before pulling away.

"Don't worry, we'll have other nights in." She whispered, and disappeared into the hallway. Sasuke's lip twitched.

* * *

><p><em>YAY I'M ALL CAUGHT UP OKAY LETS DO THIS. Well until I fall behind again tomorrow. *sweatdrop*<em>

_But seriously, Papa Sasuke is literally the cutest thing I have ever seen, and it makes my heart melt. And my ovaries explode because come on, he's friggin' hot. LOL._


	7. VII

**A/N: **_RATED M FOR SEXUAL SITUATIONS BUT THERE IS NO LEMON. _

* * *

><p><strong>VII. Night Out<strong>

_Because when Sasuke gets jealous of Sakura's wandering attention, Sasuke takes action._

* * *

><p>"Sasuke-kun, I'm going to go out with Ino, Hinata and TenTen tonight!" She called through his small apartment. There was a grunt, and then he appeared in the hallway of the small bathroom, eyeing her as she applied her mascara, leaning over the counter to get a better look in the mirror. Her lips parted as she finished her handiwork. When she finished, she leaned back and turned to her boyfriend, smiling. He crossed his arms.<p>

"Where?" Came his curt reply. Sakura shrugged.

"Ino wanted to get some drinks at the bar and then maybe go to Iki's night club-"

"No."

Sakura sighed and put down her eyeliner pencil. She crossed her arms to match Sasuke and raised an eyebrow at him. He looked away and sighed again.

"Fine." She smiled and kissed his cheek, ignoring his blush and turned back to the mirror, continuing to do her makeup. Sasuke scowled and left the room. He collapsed on the bed, arms covering his eyes. He would never admit to it, but he was a tad jealous at Sakura going out. He hated going out to night clubs, of course, but when Sakura went out without him, he knew there would be guys swarming around her. He growled at the thought, his corneas burning to activate his Sharingan. But he grunted, calming himself down and rolled over onto his stomach, cradling his head in his arms.

Stupid, _sexy_, irresistable Sakura. He muttered mentally.

He heard her put her makeup bag back in the cupboard, and he looked up to the bathroom, watching as she ruffled her hair, trying to add a bit of volume to it. He growled again. She adjusted her (_very low cut_) shirt and grabbed her purse, leaving the bathroom. She walked over to the bed where Sasuke was lying and leaned over to press her lips to his cheek. He rolled back over onto his back and pressed his lips to hers, hand cupping the back of her neck, holding her there. She let out a muffled squeal and pulled away, sighing.

"Sasuke-kun! I just put on lipstick!" She fixed her lips and then looked at Sasuke, giggling. His own ones were smeared red from her gloss, and he licked them, scowling at the taste of makeup. He quickly rubbed off the red with his arm, looking at the stain. Sakura wiped his cheek and giggled once more.

"I'll be back before midnight." She promised, and patted his cheek, walking out of the bedroom.

"Call me if anything happens!" She called over her shoulder, and she heard Sasuke mutter a string of curses. She smiled.

* * *

><p>While Sakura was laughing and drinking down a few martinis at the bar, Sasuke was lounging on the couch in the living room. He sighed and looked around him, not knowing what to do. Sakura had a girls night out every so often, and when she did, Sasuke never had anything to do. He just walked around his apartment, playing with his phone absentmindedly. He turned on the tv, and watched the news for a few minutes, before turning it back off.<p>

Then he opted to head over to the bookshelf, picking up a random scroll. He read it through five times, memorized the jutsu's hand techniques and shoved it back on the shelf. Even more bored, he picked up his phone and called Naruto.

"_OH HI, TEME-_" He hung up, deciding that was one of his worst ideas. He groaned and chucked his phone onto the couch, heading into the bedroom. He looked around at the vanity filled with Sakura's jewelry and other items, the pictures on the wall, and the chest of drawers. He opened it, organized the closed inside and shoved it close again with a sigh.

Kami, he was bored.

His fingers itched to text Sakura. Would she answer? Or was she too busy? She would probably just tell him to go hang out with the guys. He clenched and unclenched his palms, heading into the bathroom. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, before getting a very random, very unlike Sasuke idea. He quickly headed into the living room to grab his phone.

* * *

><p>Sakura laughed and downed her first martini, deciding to have one more, perhaps two and then stop. She didn't plan on getting drunk tonight. She listened as TenTen told the group about the story of how Neji and Lee got caught in an elevator for two hours together, and the girls laughed. Sakura was about to open her mouth to ask Ino a question, when her phone dinged. Ino raised an eyebrow at her best friend and smirked.<p>

"Looks like Sasuke's checking up on his girlfriend." She snickered behind her glass and Tenten grinned.

"Or he's bored again." She chimed in. Sakura waved a hand at her friends and pulled her phone out of her purse. She frowned.

"Why is he sending me a picture-" She started, opening the message, and instantly regretted it. Her cheeks blushed red and she dropped her phone back in her purse, lips fleeing up to cover her mouth as she let out a surprised squeal. Hinata put a hand on her friends arm, worried.

"Sakura? What is it?" Sakura shook her head and took her lips from her mouth, still blushing. She shakingly retrieved her phone from her purse, which was still viewing the picture and swallowed.

Sasuke was perched in front of the camera, shirt off, lounging on what looked like the couch. In the picture, his eye was dropped into a low wink, a very dirty smirk on his lips. One hand was on his phone, taking the picture, and the other up behind his head in a Naruto-like fashion.

"N-nothing!" Sakura waved her hand once more at her friends, offering them a small smile. She quickly locked her phone once more, the screen disappearing, as well as the picture. She shoved her phone back in her purse and grabbed her glass.

"A-ah. Don't worry!" She shrugged, not knowing how to explain or provide an excuse for the sight she had just seen. Ino shrugged, and went back to talking, TenTen's gaze going to the blonde girl. Hinata looked worriedly at her friend once more before also listening to Ino. She excused herself to go to the bathroom as the friends lulled into a content silence, and hurried into the restroom. She pulled her phone out of her purse, exited out the photo and typed back a response with shaking fingers. She blushed once more.

**Sasuke-kun! **

She bit her lip, not knowing what else to really say. She sent the message and awaited his response, seeing that he was already typing out a reply. It came within seconds.

**Did you enjoy the view, Sa-ku-ra?**

She swallowed, but didn't respond back. She shoved her phone back into her purse and exited the bathroom.

* * *

><p>Sasuke frowned as he saw that she read his message but made no move to reply. Another slow smirk came to his lips as he plotted his next move.<p>

Sakura returned to her friends and smiled, trying to act like nothing had happened. What had gotten into Sasuke? He never ever _ever_ sent her such pictures of himself, and come to think of it, he never took any pictures of himself either! She swallowed heavily and ordered another drink.

The second picture came as they were paying at the bar and leaving to head to the night club. She was about to push open the door to the exit for her friends, when her phone let out another ding. She jumped, panicked, and quickly exited the bar, letting her friends file in front of her in a walk, so that they wouldn't see her face as she looked at his message. Her finger hesitated over the 'open' button of his picture message, and she swallowed, eyes shutting as she pressed it quickly. Shakingly she opened her eyes and bit back a moan.

This time, he was standing in front of the hallway wall, his head turned away from the camera, showing his strong jawline and gorgeous hair. He was once more shirtless, and his jeans were pulled down ever so slightly, showing his pale hipbones. His thumb was hooked in his belt loop, the weight pulling the hem of his pants down a bit more in that area. She stared at his toned muscles, traveling down to his jeans and quickly exited out the message once more.

She slammed her purse shut and hurried to catch up with her friends, remaining silent, still biting her lip. Holy shit, _he was sexy. __  
><em>

There was a twenty minute pause between his last picture and his next. She had forgotten about it for a bit, letting the music lull her onto the dancefloor. She danced among her friends, a smile on her face, when she spied her purse across the night club on the table they had designated as theirs. Through the sheer material of the clutch, there was a bright light. She instantly know he had sent her another message.

She stopped dancing and quickly ran over to the booth, taking a seat. She looked up to make sure her friends were still far from her and dancing, when she pulled her phone from her purse and opened the message. Slowly, a ball of heat filled in the pit of her stomach, and she squeezed her thighs together in a hitched breath.

He was lying down now, eyes hidden by his bangs, but the dirty smirk on his face said it all. He was splayed out in all of his handsome glory, jeans around his pelvis, showing the small trail of hair. His jeans were unbuttoned now, the waistband of his boxers peaking out of the exposed area, and his hand was between his hips, fingers dangerously close to sneaking in his pants.

She locked her phone, not giving him the liberty of receiving a message back and quickly headed back out to dance. This was going too far. But from Sasuke's perspective, she was almost done. The minute she she resumed dancing, Hinata tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped turning around.

"Your phone went off!" Hinata called over the loud music. Sakura stopped short, slightly irritated, but most curious, dying to know what his next move. She bit back the temptation to lick her lips as she rushed over to the table once more. At first, when she opened it, she thought it was just another picture, and she was ready to stare at it for five minutes, taking in everything she saw hungrily, but then she realized it was a video. _Oh hell no-_

Her thoughts were cut off by his husky whisper that she heard, even over the dull throbbing of the night club music coming from the dance floor.

"Like what you see, Sa-ku-ra?" He said slowly, still laying in the same position as the last picture. Her eyes widened, orbs hungrily watching as his hands slipped into his jeans, and she saw him slowly grip himself, his back arching at the touch. His lips parted and his eyes fell shut in a long moan. Just as she was really getting into it and she saw the outline of his fingers stroking himself, the video cut off.

She stood up in blind rage, and walked over to her friends. She yelled at them that she had to go home and bid them goodbye without explanation. When she reached Sasuke's apartment, she wordlessly and angrily slammed open the door, closing it just as hostily. She saw the light on in the bedroom and threw her purse on the kitchen counter, storming into the lit room. He was still on the bed, hand down his pants, but he turned to look at her, an innocent smirk on his lips, phone resting on his naked chest.

"Did you have fun-" He questioned slowly but she stormed over to him, cutting him off.

"First of all, you have the _audacity, the fucking nerve_ to ruin my night out, and then you think you can fucking cut off the video right when it was getting good, you _selfish bastard!_" Sasuke's eyes widened and he moved to sit up, hand retreating from his jeans, but Sakura's hand pushed him back to lying down.

"Now finish what you started!" She commanded, and Sasuke's lips twitched into a smirk. His hand trailed back down into his jeans.

* * *

><p><em>I'M SORRY BUT I SERIOUSLY HAVE A THING FOR SASUKE TAKING SEXY SELFIES I MEAN COME ON HOW CAN YOU NOT BUST AN OVARY OVER THIS? <em>**  
><strong>


	8. VIII

**A/N:**_ Technically this is early, by an hour (Eastern Time), but Day 8 is tomorrow so blah, have this early. :3_

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><p><strong>VIII. the student becomes the teacher<strong>

* * *

><p>"Again!" Sakura commanded, and swiftly dodged the kunai that was launched at her. She landed gracefully on her feet, looking at the knife in the bark of the tree. He was getting good. That one had barely missed her cheekbone. She nodded, a small smile on her lips.<p>

"Very good, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn." Sakura let out a giggle and stretched, rolling her shoulders back and forth.

"Let's take a break for the moment, ne?"

"Aa." She smiled again and walked over to where Sasuke was stood. She placed her hand on his arm, and he tensed slightly, before letting out a small pant. His progress was improving very well, and Sakura was happy to fill out her report so.

After the Great Shinobi War, Sakura had worked with Tsunade to further her study on optics and the nerves in the eyes. She wasn't at all shocked when Sasuke appeared in Tsunade's office one morning, his right eye covered by a bandage. He refused to meet her or Tsunade's curious eyes and Sakura had gripped her papers closer to her chest, mouth open to ask Sasuke what was wrong.

"I want to remove my Rinnegan." He said gruffly, curtly. Sakura gasped. She knew that Sasuke had worked hard to acclaim such a power, but she also knew that the Rinnegan eye was permanent, and unlike the Sharingan in Sasuke's bloodline, could not be expelled and brought back to the eye by a mere body decision. And she had to be a little honest (truly), the eye was a bit creepy. She looked at Tsunade, who was silent, her mouth a grim line.

"This surgery will be permanent, once it is gone, you cannot get it back." Sasuke nodded. Tsunade's eyebrow shot up in question.

"And anyway, do you even have a _replacement _eye? If I remove the Rinnegan, you'll have nothing there." Sasuke was silent, his hands hanging limply at his sides. He swallowed.

"Yes." Is all he said, and Sakura didn't question it. Ever. Tsunade took charge of the surgery, but Sakura was the one who would remove and reattach the nerves in Sasuke's eyes. The surgery was a success, and Sasuke once more had a Sharingan eye, the orb as obsidian as his old eye. Sakura again strayed from asking him where he had gotten such an eye so close to his own, but didn't. For three months after the surgery, Sasuke was to be "blind", unable to use his eyes, they were covered by a blindfold to insure that both eyes would recover steadily and no complications arose. Tsunade entrusted Sasuke's improvements in Sakura.

During the end of his first month in recovery, Sakura had been inspecting the closed eye, fingers gracing over the small scar. She had made sure that he didn't end up with a scar like over Kakashi's own Sharingan eye. He twitched at her touch, but said nothing.

"I need to work on my training." He said blankly. Sakura let out a giggle. Sasuke had turned into a training addict. Any amount of days without any physical or mental exercise was fatal to him. She nodded.

"Now would be a good time for you to work on using your other senses. I have taught other blinded shinobi in the past how to fight and sense without their eyes and they claimed that it improved their fighting skills tenfold. Would you like me to teach you?" She smiled warmly, knowing he couldn't see it, but could hear the tenderness in her tone. She still loved him, of course, but not much had changed since he came back. He was the same old Uchiha Sasuke. He grunted.

"Tomorrow." He agreed, and Sakura had nodded, making a small 'mhm' noise.

Now, he was nearing the end of his blind recovery period, soon able to use his eyes. After two months of using his senses to form a mental image of his environment, sense chakra, as well as movements, Sasuke had almost became an expert in it. Same old Uchiha Sasuke, as Sakura said. She handed him a small bottle of water, and he gulped it down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. She took it from him once more and set it aside.

"Let's make sure your environment senses are still working." She said pleasantly and tapped his shoulder, indicating he sit on the ground. He did so, crossing his legs and Sakura sat in front of him, their knees close to touching. She blushed and looked at his bandaged eyes and grim face. He took in a breath, relaxing himself and waited for her questions.

"Where am I sat?" She started with and he smirked. So easy.

"Right in front of me." He said blandly and she nodded, smiling.

"Good. How close am I sat from you?"

He placed his hands on his knees. "Two inches from my kness." Sakura nodded, calculating the distance herself with a blush.

"Perfect. Now tell me where your last kunai landed." Sasuke took in a long breath and then exhaled, his lips parted. Sakura looked at him, her eyes skimming his lips. Still so handsome, she thought to herself with a small smile. Slowly, his hand raised from it's position on his knee and moved past Sakura to her left. He pointed his index finger silently. Bingo. She clapped and giggled.

"Very good, Sasuke-kun!"

"Hn." She smiled and patted his knee. He flinched and exhaled once more. They sat there in the silence, while Sakura thought of a more challenging question to ask him. She opened her mouth to say it, when Sasuke's husky voice cut her off, and her question died in her throat.

"Sakura." She looked at him, eyes wide.

"Hm?" She tilted her head, knowing he could sense her actions and movements. She could see a very slight blush under the bandages covering his cheeks.

"What color is your shirt?" He asked plainly and Sakura blushed. Why was he asking her this?

"Red." She answered.

"And your pants?" He continued quickly. She blushed harder, swallowing.

"A-ah.. black.." She trailed off and looked at his face, but it was expressionless. He nodded and was silent again. Sakura closed her eyes, willing her blush to go down, and when she opened her eyes once more, she let out a small gasp of air. Sasuke was leant forward, his face centimeters from hers, lips still a hard line. She parted her lips, exhaling quickly.

"S-Sasuke-ku-" She started shakily.

"What about your lips?" He whispered, and she blushed. Before she could even form an answer, let alone take in a breath, his lips were gingerly pressed to hers, hands still on his knees. She breathed against his lips, blushed harder and pulled away, biting her lip. Sasuke frowned. Sakura looked down, folding her hands in her lap.

"I-I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun.." His lips moved back into a line, pursing.

"Why?" He asked. She bit her lip deeper, and shrugged nervously.

"Ah.. that was my first kiss.." She whispered, and looked away from him. It was true. Che, she was almost eighteen, and had never had her first kiss. Needless to say, she had had opportunities. After her date with Kiba two years ago, he head leaned into kiss her, but she softly declined, feeling that it wasn't right. He wasn't Sasuke. After that, she didn't care much for dating.

"Sakura." He said quietly and she snapped out of her thoughts, looking back at him.

"Let me teach you." He murmured and pulled his head back to hers, warm lips gently settling back on her parted ones. This time she kissed back, eyes closing, small tears of joy falling down her cheeks.

_Yes, Sasuke-kun, _she thought, _teach me, and I'll teach you how to love again._

* * *

><p><strong>Yolo totally finished this an hour before Day 8. Yeeees I am ahead. FOR NOW.<strong>


	9. IX

**A/N:** _I'm getting emotional writing this, Kami save me. Soft of drabbly and hella short, but it's sweet. I teared up. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>IX. Bravery<strong>

* * *

><p>It takes all of the courage in the world for her to speak, soft voice cutting through the tense silence that had festered from earlier events. She was still tired, still aching from her day at work, but that wasn't what she was focused on right now. She bit her lower lip and refused, with all of her might, to avoid meeting the eyes that she can come to love so over the years, to admire. When she speaks, it is not harshly, not coldly, but broken. She shakes, and a sob swells to her throat, itching to be released.<p>

"It's less than five percent."

He doesn't answer, doesn't move, doesn't breathe, it seems. He is a statue, a beautiful god of pale marble skin and dark features. The eyes that she had longed to search her face for years do so now, and there is nothing in them. No emotions. _No hope. _When he speaks, it takes all of his sanity not to break down right then. His jaw clenches. He must remain calm, remain strong. He isn't the last of the Uchiha's for nothing. His voice breaks like a glass vase to wooden floor.

"Which one?" He questions, and she bites back another sob. She has to stay strong for him, for them, for what could have been. She swallows.

"I have a six percent chance and yours is less than three."

There is more silence. They stand, parallels to each other, as if looking in a mirror, stood, feet planted, hands limp at their sides, heads down. A tear slips down her cheek before she can stop it, control it. He is still without words, and she feels that it is her duty to give him what little reassurance that she could.

"It's nothing you could have prevented, yours is genetic, unfortunately." She bites her lip harder. She does not mention that hers, by her tests completed at the hospital at the end of her shift, show that her low probability could have been prevented had she not exhumed so much stress over her little years. It was true. Her five years with the hospital, exams, and studies had taken it's toll on her body. There were days when she was younger when she could go for days without sleeping and eating. Anything to pass her exams. Anything to pass her sensei. She swallows a hard lump in her throat.

She finds it ironic, ridiculous, horrible, that the last of the Uchiha's; the man expected to rebuild his clan and his bloodline, has the fertility rate of less than five percent. They had been trying for going on five years next month, and their relationship strained under the pressure. Sakura was nearing twenty eight and Sasuke still a ripe age of twenty seven. They were so young, supposed to be fertile.

Her husband speaks again. When he does she gasps and snaps her head up towards him, her lips parting. His eyes are still trained down at his feet, and she knows his face is grim, his heart plummeting, hope destroyed.

"All I've ever wanted was to be a father." Comes his whisper. Now, tears fall down her cheeks, and she lets them, sobs omitting from her throat weakly. Her fingers clench and unclench, and before she can let out everything, let herself finally go, she is in the circle of his arms. He is warm, soft, comforting. They find comfort in her wordless sobs, and she feels her hair begin to dampen. Their tears mix together on her shirt, neck, and his chest. Her fingers clench his shirt, digging into his arms, but she doesn't care. Nor does he.

"I'm sorry", she chokes out, "I'm so sorry.." She repeats this, and it becomes her mantra, her way of letting everything go. She can't help but believe this. If she had just not put so much stress on her body- His cool voice cuts her off.

"I won't give up. _We're not giving up._" He sounds stronger than she feels. She lets his confidence fuel her. Her sobs turn into small, silent gags, her upper body twitching, writhing. Slowly, they calm down, and their tears disappear. His lips find her hair, and she presses her head into his neck, inhaling his sweet scent. She reminds herself of why she is here. Why she wears the silver band around her finger.

"Never." She finally answers, and it is a harsh whisper. She becomes his courage.

It takes them two more months, and they are already at the five year mark. They do not give up. Sakura riddles herself with maternal vitamins, exercise, regular sleep schedules. Sasuke spends his days with her medical books opened, the only sound coming from the compound is his fingers turning the pages slowly.

It is finally when she misses her monthly course that her eyes widen, heart leaping at her confirmed theory, and she sobs for a different reason. When she tells him that night, he is still exhausted from his mission, but never the less, his head is clear as he takes in her words like air. He lets the tears flow freely, clear liquid against porcelain stone. She kisses his cheeks, tears gone. He caresses her flat stomach that will soon be rounded with life.

It is her bravery that keeps him going.


	10. X

**A/N:** _Yay I have nothing much to say for this one! :D _

* * *

><p><strong>X. Impulsive<strong>

* * *

><p>They were stuck. Not just stuck, but tied up. In a cave. In the middle of winter. Sakura whined.<p>

"Where is Naruto, anyways?" She demanded irritably into the air, knowing that Sasuke probably wasn't paying attention to her anyways. To her surprise, Sasuke snorted.

"Probably passed out somewhere." He said blandly, and Sakura couldn't help but agree. Naruto had a habit of being too stubborn for his own good, so when he saw the enemies on a mission, he attacked. And it was true, he was currently against a tree, upside down, completely knocked out. Sakura huffed.

"I knew those weren't just traveling nomads! Stupid Naruto." Sasuke 'hn'd beside her and there was movement as he adjusted himself into a very uncomfortable kneeling position. They had been attacked by surprise by the criminals they were supposed to catch; petty purse thieves from the Land of the Mist. As Sakura had said, they were feigning to be 'travelers' and when they saw the Hidden Leaf headbands, attacked and captured Sasuke and Sakura.

"Tch." Sasuke went silent, his eyes closing in thought. There had to be a way out of this.

Sakura, on the other hand, began to wriggle, making small noises and squeals as she tried to break out of the constrictions around her wrists and ankles. She had a very dainty bone structure for her age, thanks to genes, and knew that if she could just slip the rope over her knuckles.. She stopped, frozen, when she caught Sasuke looking at her, very agitated.

"It's no use." He said blankly. "It's chakra rope."

Sakura sweatdropped and her head fell forward in a sigh. "Yes, Sasuke-kun, I _see _that."

"Hn." She rolled her eyes and continued to wriggle her arms around behind her back, tongue poking out between her lips as she was deep in thought. Just as she was close to slipping the rope to the edge of her wrist, Sasuke spoke again, making her jump. Her eyes widened and she stopped what she was doing.

"Sakura." She raised an eyebrow at him, and then continued her feat. He scowled.

"Hm?"

"Stop doing that." She frowned, but continued.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun, have you learned nothing from Naruto? You have to _try_!" Sasuke snorted.

"Tch. If we listened to him, we'd be passed out somewhere beaten up."

"As opposed to sitting in a cave, tied up, freezing our _asses off_!" Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"You're wearing a cape Sakura, you shouldn't be cold." She bit her lip and looked away, moving to kneel, as Sasuke was. The chakra rope cut into her ankles as she put her weight on her legs and she winced.

"Well excuse me for having cold blood." She muttered and continued to move her wrists against the chakra rope. When she realized that she couldn't get it back around her knuckle, thanks to Sasuke's earlier grumpiness, she frowned, and began to ramble to herself in an irritated manner.

"Stupid Kakashi-sensei. 'I've got a meeting that day', he said, 'you three can handle this alone'. Alone my ass! It's too cold for this, I cannot believe he let us do this alone, and now Naruto, the idiot, is knocked out and probably doesn't even _realize_ that we're in here, in need of his help. Kami damnit, these stupid ropes! If I could reach my kunai holster, I would tear these to shreds-"

"Sakura." Sasuke said quickly, his Sharingan activating, but Sakura continued, writhing frantically, her voice filling the silence of the cave. Sasuke growled and tried to say her name again, edging closer on his knees. He ignored the strings of curses coming from his thirteen year old teammates mouth.

"-shannaro! And who the _hell_ ever made these ropes? They are the stupidest pieces of crap I ever-"

"Sakura, shush!" Sasuke said dangerously. He could feel the criminals approaching the cave. He frowned deeper and tried to move his elbow to jibe her to make her shut up, but he couldn't. Shit, if she didn't stop, they would come in here, and think that they were trying to escape. He growled again. How the _hell_ was he supposed to stop her from talking? He moved so that he was in front of her, knees touching hers. She continued, ignoring his movements, shoulders rising and falling as she tried to escape the ropes. With all of his limbs bound, and his voice not getting to her, it was impossible to get her to stop talking. Not knowing what else to do, he acted on complete impulse.

"-stupidest mission ever! My nose is an ice block by now and my legs are falling asleep, Sasuke, how are you-_mmnnfff_!"

He slammed his lips over hers, and the words died in her throat. She breathed out against his lips, cold breath mixing with his warm one, and she made a noise in the back of her throat. Her eyes looked at his closed ones, and stopped wriggling. Slowly, Sasuke pulled away, realizing she was quiet now, and sighed. The chakra signatures disappeared outside the cave too.

"Shush." Is all he said, and a large blush spread across her cheeks. She saw the tips of his ears grow red. She swallowed, and quietly continued pulling her wrists at the chakra rope, deciding not to dwell on what had just happened. He tasted like mint and tomato. She licked her lips.

"Ah!" Finally, she managed to slip one of her hands completely out of the rope, and then the other. She smiled triumphantly and massaged the pained areas, before grabbing a kunai from her pouch, charged it with her own chakra, and began ripping at the rope at her ankles. Sasuke, wide eyed, stared at her as she carved at the rope.

_Good job, Sakura_, he thought to himself and waited, as she finally cut through the rope, and turned to Sasuke, who swung around so she could cut his rope. When he was free, she helped him stand up.

"See? Told you we had to try!" She said happily and Sasuke sighed.

* * *

><p>After that, she never once questioned the kiss Sasuke had brought on in that situation, because she knew, it must have been the last resort. It wasn't until five years later, when they were sat at Ichiraku's like old times, and she was lecturing Naruto agitatedly on his lack of personal hygiene, that it crossed her mind again. Naruto was wincing at her words and Sasuke was frowning, his arms crossed.<p>

"-you cannot just walk around without bathing, Naruto! Kami, you're not a child anymore, and what would Hinata think? You need to shower after you train, you absolutely stink- _mmnf!_"

Sasuke, getting a headache from Sakura's agitated, loud tone, had swung around to her, put his hands behind his back and shoved his lips to hers. Naruto sighed out in relief and Sakura stopped talking immediately. Her hands stayed at her sides, still shocked by the warm lips against hers. Sasuke sighed and pulled away from her, looking down at his empty bowl.

"Shush." He said.

Sakura swallowed and blushed. She had a thing for Sasuke's impulsive actions.


	11. XI

**A/N: **_This one shot uses symbolism heavily, so yeah. If you aren't familiar with the popular ones, basically: Naruto represents "the sun", Sasuke "the moon" and Sakura "the stars". And yeah, now you can figure out where this is headed. Sorry, it's another short one, I don't feel like dragging out these one shots as much, since I think a simple small amount of words sums it up perfectly. Anyways, enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XI. A Night With No Stars<strong>

* * *

><p>There were no stars out tonight.<p>

The sky was dark, ominous, empty. All that existed tonight was the weak light of the crescent moon. He stood on the grass, looking down at the piece of perfectly carved slate in front of him. Aching muscles pushed his hand up to caress the Hidden Leaf insignia in the stone. Shakingly, he retracted his fingers, letting his hand drop back to his side. His breath was light, weak, _ready_.

She had been gone two years today, but to him, it felt like a painful eternity. He wanted to join her, up in a higher place, to be by her side again. His heart thumped in his chest. Slowly, he lowered himself to sit in front of the gravestone, rubbing his painful joints. Che, he used to be so agile, so flexible. But now, it hurt to sit down, to bend the wrong way. He supposed that she had done her time well on Earth, had lived a lovely life, he knew _this_, and was happy at her death. She died in her sleep, peacefully, her light flickering out like a candle in a whisper of wind.

He wanted her buried next to his parents.

He looked to the left to where their own gravestones were in the grass, and then moved his head back to her stone.

_Uchiha (Haruno) Sakura_, it read in perfect, scrolled kanji, _beloved mother, wife and teammate. _He swallowed, and closed his eyes. Tears formed, and he willed himself to push them back, even though his throat began to feel heavy with the potential for a breakdown.

"S-Sakura.." He whispered in a cracked tone. He was ready. Perhaps it was his time. The arthritis in his joints seemed to agree at least. He rubbed his knees, in deep in thought, letting small breaths escape his parted lips. Then, the tears began to fall. To cheer himself up, he tried to focus on memories of when they were little.

There were so many good memories, so many happy ones, and then.. darkness. When she wasn't there, he would look at the sky and see that the stars weren't bright and shining as they used to be, but weak, flickering. When he returned to her, to his village, the stars returned. She was happy again. He _made her happy _again.

His hand fell back to her gravestone to press to her name.

_"Sasuke-kun.." She murmured, her voice weak, yet confident. He chuckled. Even after so many years, she still used that dear suffix. Her hand moved across the bed sheet to grip his hand, intertwining their aching fingers. His other hand reached out to stroke her hair and she smiled. _

_"We're so... senile.." She whispered and giggled. He huffed and rolled his eyes. He was _not that _old. His lips found their way to her hair, and she exhaled, her other hand cupping the back of his hair, running her shaking hands through his white locks. _Okay_, he thought, _maybe they were that old_. She giggled once more, but remained silent after that, as if she were in deep thought. He arched an eyebrow at her, his old characteristic trait forming. She smiled warmly again. _

_"We're already grandparents, Sasuke-kun.. what are we supposed to do now, hm?" He shrugged. _

_"Enjoy the rest of our life." He said simply, and her eyes welled with tears. She nodded, and closed her eyes, hands still stroking his head. He moved to lay down next to her, encasing her frail body against his. _

_"I don't really know how eight-one year olds are supposed to do that." She laughed and he smirked into her hair. _

_"Hn."_

Had he known that that would be one of the last nights that he would ever hold her in his arms again, he would have made it last forever. Tears slipped down his cheeks and fell into the grass. She fought until the end, but she was right, there wasn't much that people of such an old age could do; could live for anymore. Of their age group, they were one of the last to survive. The Uzumaki's were gone five years prior, Naruto's son assuming the Hokage status, and Sasuke and Sakura's son had already taken over the Konaha Police Force, leaving his parents to enjoy a quiet retirement. Sasuke swallowed.

"Sakura.." He said again, gently, lovingly. He licked his dry and cracked lips.

There was silence around him, except for small cricket chirps. He looked back at the sky. Still, there was complete darkness, and the moon's light weakened still.

"I'll be there with you soon, Sakura.." he murmured, and swallowed, "you'll have to wait for me once more.."

* * *

><p>His funeral was an evening one a few nights later; Sasuke's son had abided to every wish in Sasuke's will. He was buried next to his wife and parents.<p>

_Uchiha Sasuke, _his gravestone read, _beloved husband, father, and friend. May he lie beneath the shining stars forever. _

His son, wife, and kids all shed tears. The Uzumaki's, Hyuuga's and Nara's attended. Even the Hatake's made an appearance. It was a funeral for honor. Finally, he would be with his wife again.

At first, there was no moon. The dusk turned to darkness, as the funeral ended, and then the moon made its appearance. It was dim, weak against the darkness of the sky. But then, the stars appeared, bright, luminous, _alive. _

The moon was bright, and the stars shined brightly, embracing it in the sky. Reunited.


	12. XII

**A/N: **_This one is sort of crack-y, but is meant to be set right after the end of the War (which hopefully ends happily with Kaguya gone and some little future moments :3) Sakura may be a little out of character, but yeah I felt like making her use some of Tsunade's raging anger! Also, rated T for language, as Sakura is quite the fatalist with her thoughts. Sorry this is short! Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XII. Silver Lining<strong>

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><p>Haruno Sakura put up with a lot of shit in her life.<p>

And when she said a lot of shit, she meant. _A lot of shit_. Tons of it. She was picked on for the size of her forehead and the color of her hair until she was seven, she made a rival of her best friend over a boy (of all goddamn things), she had been slammed into things, and found herself unconscious so many times that she lost count, she was dumped on a fucking bench in the middle of the goddamn night, stabbed to near death by a Pinocchio look alike puppet mother fucker, attacked by the Kyuubi form, almost killed twice by the same boy she and Ino fought over, and to top it off, fell in deep love with said guy.

She needed a break.

So, when Uchiha Sasuke's taunting words cut through the silence the team brought about, Sakura just about lost all of her self control. Her eye twitched, her knuckles clenched, and her teeth gritted. She had put up with so much, _so much_, and she had amazing will power (and chakra control, take that you handsome bastard!) but right now, she was tied between three courses of actions.

Slamming Uchiha Sasuke's head into the concrete wall to rid him of his smirk (which was her first choice, of course), delivering a blow to his groin so that he would never see little Uchiha babies running around in the future, or pressing a fierce kiss to his lips (because she _damn well could_, and she deserved it).

The four of them had been bent over, panting, taking the final blows. They were recovering from the finals of Kaguya's last attacks, before she was gone. The war was over. Sakura quickly healed most of her three male teammates' deepest wounds and checked Kakashi's Sharingan eye. Naruto and Sasuke were panting, refusing to lock eyes, and Kakashi looked weakened, fed up. He rubbed his head.

"Looks like it's all over now, and Team 7 is back." Naruto groaned.

"Great, teme's back." He muttered, as Sakura tended to a nasty cut on his shoulder.

"Hn."

Sakura finished with Naruto, smacking his hands away as he tried to stop her from healing him and using up the remains of her chakra, and straightened up, healing herself. Honestly, at this point, she wasn't very eager to approach Sasuke. After saving his ass from the desert dimension, and his lack of a simple _thank you_, she focused on fighting, and helping Naruto and protecting Kakashi if need be.

She finally went over to Sasuke, pressing her hand to the gash on his bicep, ignoring his scowl. He tried to writhe from her grasp, but she held him tight. She still had enough chakra to show him just how much brute strength she had. He looked away, scowling deeper as she healed up his bleeding wounds, and then stepped away from him.

Just as they began walking away from the wreck of a battle field in front of them, Sasuke 'hn'ed once more, and Sakura's lip twitched.

"Still annoying as ever, I see, Sakura."

She lost it.

She debated of the three choices she could make, which one would be most fitting. The wall one sounded pretty nice, it would shut him up; but the kick to his balls sounded _very tempting_. And then there was the kiss. Nope, she was heading for choice numero dos. Her eyes shon in anger, and she felt Naruto gasp from beside her, tensing up. He knew what was coming to Sasuke. She swung around to face his smirking features, her fist raised, foot twitching in anticipation. _  
><em>

She took a step towards him and gripped his chin between her fingers, pinching the bone with her strength.

"You absolutely pathetic, _son of a bit-_"

Before she could finish her own sentence, her other hand reached up to grab at his shirt collar, and using both hands and her left over chakra, yanked his lips against hers. She really hadn't planned on kissing him. But those damned lips of his looked oh so.. _ravishing _in his large smirk. God dammit. Her cheeks flared red in anger, her fingers clenching his shirt tighter. She refused to pull her fingers from their vice like grip on his chin.

She waited for him to react, to yank himself away from her lips, shove her away as usual. She was used to it by now, even after the many years. Well. She had done it now, the dragon had been released. She sighed inwardly, getting ready to pull away from his lips so she could yell at him a little more, perhaps heal him, slap him, she didn't really know. Her hands relaxed on his chin, and pulled away from his skin. Her fingers unclenched his shirt.

Just as she was going to pull away from his unresponsive lips, a large, warm hand shot up to cup her head, eagerly holding her in place. His frozen mouth suddenly melted against hers, panting in her mouth. She let out a noise of surprise.

_Well...shit. _

She heard Kakashi snort from behind her, and she could feel Naruto's sly grin on her turned back.

"Guess there's a silver lining to this whole 'saving the world thing', eh?" Kakashi addressed Naruto, but he was too busy shooting the couple a dirty grin. Kakashi's next question came out of nowhere and made Sakura's eyes pop open in realization.

"Anybody seen Yamato?"

* * *

><p><em>Hah, I was a day early! *evil laughter*<em>


	13. XIII

**A/N:** _RATED M FOR SORT OF LIME JUST IN CASE. __I'm going to PUSH myself to make this one longer, even though this is drabble-ish. But yeah, just doing this one for the hormones LOL. Or should I say, whore-moans. Ahem. Anyways. Enjoy! _

* * *

><p><strong>XIII. Drowning<strong>

* * *

><p>She was drowning in a sea of his kisses.<p>

They weren't predictable, but they were strategic. Random. She never objected, and he never provided an explanation. She decided that no matter what happened, he wouldn't.. didn't need to explain himself. She understood.

She never knew when to expect them, and she could be caught up in _anything _when he would sneak in a kiss. Whether it was at work, out shopping, training, relaxing, in the kitchen, in the Hokage's tower, on a mission, in the bedroom, in the shower, against the counter, wall, floor, table, _everywhere_.

She licked her lips. They were still burning, tingling from the sensation of his lips on them. His scent, she swore, was permanent against her porcelain skin, ingrained in her head. It was like a brand of perfume she never wanted to take off. But at the rate of their encounters, she realized she would never have to. Her index finger graced her lower lip, meeting the soft skin as she lost herself in thought. She always tried to predict when the next kiss would come, but she knew that she would never be right. Sometimes she was off my seconds, sometimes hours.

His kisses ranged from one to another, no two were alike. His sweetest was a chaste on to her nose, short, quick, light. Never the less, her face blazed in a blush and he would smirk and pull away. That was one of the most innocent of the kisses, only compared to the airy one he would press to her forehead. There were higher intensity ones too, where he would press his lips to hers, moving warmly against hers in a dance. Or when his lips would attack the hollow of her shoulder and her neck, breathing warm air against her skin. Though she was addicted to these kisses, too, they were not the _one_ that she always desired the most.

Her favorite, her morphine of body contacts, was not rare, but it was so unpredictable, that every time it happened, she was completely shocked for the first few seconds of it. Which made her mad, because she missed seconds of this amazing kiss.

Her favorite was when he kissed her until her lips swelled, flashing red and her tongue went dry at the contract. His lips would find hers heatedly, lustfully, _hotly_, and his lips would melt against hers, tongue running over hers until she responded. They would battle for dominance, until he would grasp her lower lip between his teeth and pull it into his mouth, earning a moan from her. She lost it when he plastered his lips back to hers in an open kiss, and his hot breath mixed with hers in heavy panting, tongue molding against hers.

The first day that he had kissed her like that was the moment she decided that his kisses were distracting. _Entrenched_ in her mind so much so that she found it hard to focus after their lip locking. Or at all. There were days when she would just seclude herself in solitude to her doctor's office and just sit there, watching the clock, waiting for the next one. She did so now.

He was out with Naruto on an S-ranked ANBU mission today, but even if the duo was probably the strongest in Konaha, Tsunade only gave her best the hardest missions, meaning she expected them to turn up at the hospital soon with some minor wounds. She licked her lips, taking in the last kiss he had given her.

He had to be up early that morning, and before he got out of bed, he rolled over towards her and pressed his lips to hers. She had groggily taken her time to respond, but when she finally did, she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, legs sliding around his like snakes. He moaned against her lips, tongue inching out to lick her lower lip, begging for entrance. She opened her mouth, feeling his hot breath and lost herself in him. His lips traveled down to the crevices of her neck and shoulder, pressing, nipping and licking; before he was gone from the bed. She had rolled back over into her pillow, sighing loudly in bliss.

She licked her lips once more, when she caught his chakra down in the lobby, as well as Naruto's. She flew up out of her chair, and rushed down to the reception area, stopping in the doorway. As promised, they were covered in scratches and scrapes, but Naruto (being the stubborn man itching for a fight that he was) was more beaten up than Sasuke, chest covered in open wounds and sprains. Sasuke huffed as he tightened his grip on Naruto's side. Naruto shot Sakura an innocent grin.

"Hi, Sakura-chan.." He started but she smiled back and rolled her eyes. She gestured for Sasuke to follow her down the hallway, and he did with a grunt. She felt his eyes on her lower back, more specifically, her ass, and she swallowed, blushing. Naruto let out a low chuckle, and Sasuke flung him onto the patients table. His hands found their way into his ANBU gear pockets.

"I'll check him in." He muttered, and was gone from the room. Sakura nodded, and began tending to Naruto's wounds, lips pressing together with anticipation of when the next kiss would be. She cleaned Naruto up and discharged him, heading to her office for some coffee. She supposed Sasuke had gone home to rest, and she hoped she would expect his heated lips on hers when she arrived home that night.

Just as her hand reached out for the doorknob to her quiet office, the door pulled open and a pale hand encased her wrist, yanking her in, shutting the door behind her. She yelped in surprise, trying to look around the darkened room (she had turned off the lights before she left), before the hand on her wrist disappeared, and she was pressed against the wall, a warm body covering her own shaking one, lips pressed heatedly to hers. She breathed out and automatically wound her fingers into long, spiky locks. He panted against her lips at her gentle fingers, pressing her thigh up around his hips.

His tongue shot out to her lower lip, licking it as his teeth nipped at the skin, drawing blood. She let out a moan, and pressed her tongue against his. He shivered in anticipation, the adrenaline in his body pressing her harder against the flat surface, fingers gripping her hip and thigh. He growled.

_This, _she thought to herself between gasps of breath, _was her favorite of his kisses_.

They continued to kiss, before his fingers trailed up to the buttons on her shirt. He had already wrestled her out of her doctors coat, and it was at her feet in a pool of material. She heard the first button pop open and moaned. Her hands retreated from his scalp, and he grunted, before she shoved him with her exquisite strength towards her desk. His lips, she could tell even in the darkness, were open, and he was panting heavily, puffing warm breaths towards her. She licked her lips. Within seconds, he had knocked everything off of her desk, papers falling to the floor, pictures hitting the carpet, pens spilling everywhere.

Then, his back was against the mahogany, and she was on top of him, thighs straddling his stomach. She pressed her lips back to his open ones, and he kissed her back slowly, out of breath, tongue lazily running over hers. He ripped open the rest of her shirt, and pulled it over her shoulders and off of her, as her hands fumbled greedily for the opening of his ANBU shirt. She yanked it over his head, fingers feeling the warm muscles and crevices of his chest and stomach. He groaned.

She pulled her lips away from his, sitting up in his lap and slid herself down his body until she was on his hips. She pressed against him, and he panted harder, hand shooting up to grip the back of her head, pulling her down to him. He raised his head up and met her lips, sucking on her lower lip.

All thoughts from her head (which at this point, weren't many, anyways), were gone from her head and she let out a mewl of greed. Her fingers pressed into the shapes of his abs, her hips moving against his slowly, tormentingly. He kissed her harder, lips slipping from hers to kiss her chin and then her neck. He sucked on the skin of her collarbone, hands gripping her hips, keeping her moving against him.

She knew that this moment would stay ingrained in her mind for quite some time. Her swollen lips ached for more. More of his kisses.

She was so lost in her thoughts, that the next thing she knew, she was pressed up against her desk, his weight straddling her, hands lifting her up by her hips to collide against his chest. His lips found hers once more, gently this time, lips molding against hers in a tender kiss. Her heart melted.

Yes, she agreed to herself, she _was_ drowning in his kisses.

And she would never get used to the feeling of them.

* * *

><p><em>Blah, I don't really like the ending of this, but it was meant to be a drabble. Originally, I was planning on turning it into a lemon, but I'm super lazy today and writing a lemon is a lot LOL. So instead, enjoy a hot make out session. Plus, we all know they have sex on her desk anyways, tch. <em>


	14. XIV

**A/N: **_Gonna try and get my crack on a little here. Wish me luck!_

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><p><strong>XIV. His Side of the Story<strong>

* * *

><p>Today was a bad day for Uchiha Sasuke.<p>

Actually, now that he thought about it, this entire week had been shitty. On Monday, Naruto barged through his door at 3 in the morning to announce his 'score' with Hinata after their date the night before (_"Teme, she choked the chicken! THE CHICKEN!"_) and broke Sasuke's lock. On Tuesday, (thanks to Naruto not letting him get sleep the night before) he had sleepily and accidentally walked into the wrong side of the hot springs. Needless to say, his very shocked response (_"HNNN?!"_) and lack of fast defensive measures rendered him un-savable and a victim to being pummeled to the ground by kunoichi. Wednesday was better, except for he ran out of tomatoes. Thursday, he walked in on Sakura changing shirts, and was instantly thrown through two walls, and cracked a few ribs. Friday, he realized he was.. (what was the word Naruto used when he and Kiba talked about girls?)

.._horny_.

Big time. He spent the entirety of Saturday in his apartment, hiding from the world in the comfiest pants possible, even though they still made _things _uncomfortable. He read through every scroll he had in his house to keep his mind from wandering to bad bad places that seeing Sakura shirtless had ignited.

Today was Sunday, and he expected something else bad to happen to him. He took two cold showers to keep his raging libido down and headed to team practice. He swallowed heavily, but put on his usual, cold expression. Naruto was already sparring with Sakura, the two of them drenched in sweat. Sai had placed himself nearby and seemed to be drawing their movements. Kakashi was passed out in a tree, open porn book across his chest.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura punched Naruto and swung around to greet him, jumping up and down. Sasuke swallowed once more. She needed to _stop that. _Her final burst of puberty hit soon after the war and Sasuke regretted ever keeping his sight. Sakura with a bust could ruin a man. And the sweat dripping down her alabaster skin and her lips parted in a pant were not exactly helping.

"Tch." He said and leaned against a tree as Sakura finished up Naruto. He too, seemed to be perplexed by her bouncing chest, and was knocked out by Sakura's kick, down quickly. Sakura put her hands on her hips in triumph and turned to Sasuke. She shot him her most innocent smile, and began walking over to him. His lip twitched. _No, go away, please don't.._

"Sasuke-kun, you're next! Let's spar." He scowled, but let out a snort.

"That would be a short fight." There was a glint in Sakura's eye. She raised her fist to him. He swallowed and quickly looked over to Sai, frowning.

"Why isn't _he _sparring?" He said curtly, and Sakura giggled.

"I already got Sai earlier this morning. He's still nursing a bad back." Her happy tone cut through the air and Sai grunted from his position on the ground, continuing to paint to ignore her. Sasuke scowled once more.

"I'd rather fight Naruto." _Because he doesn't have a bouncy bust, _he added to himself quickly. Sakura gasped, and she cracked her knuckles.

"Are you calling me weak, Sa-su-ke-kun?" She rolled his name around on her tongue and he twitched.

"Hn." She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. She waved a hand at him.

"Talk to the hand, Sasuke-kun, I'm going to ask Kakashi-sensei." His eyes shot down to her ass as she swayed her hips, walking away from him. His pants tightened and he looked away again and to Naruto. He kicked him with his foot and Naruto groaned, rubbing his head.

"Get up, dobe."

Naruto frowned and sat up slowly. Then, he saw Sakura and whined, throwing his arms up in the air.

"_Sakura-chan_! You promised you wouldn't fight dirty anymore!" He accused her, and she giggled, shrugging. Just as she was about to knock Kakashi out of the tree to wake him up, her pager buzzed at her hip. She sighed loudly and pulled it off of her belt, frowning.

"Ah, Kiba is in the hospital with a ton of kunai wounds to his chest. I'd better go, ja ne!" She waved to them and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. As she did, Kakashi finally woke up in a snort and yawned. He said goodbye to them and disappeared too, without reason. Sai, also getting fed up, set out to find a masseuse to fix his back problems courtesy of Sakura.

Then it was just Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto, who was shooting Sasuke a very dirty grin. Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms.

"What, _dobe?" _He chided, and Naruto bit his lip, holding back laughter.

"You okay there, Sasuke-teme?"

Sasuke arched an eyebrow at him, but Naruto was already nodding his head to Sasuke.

"You seem a bit..._excited_._" _He whispered the word as sexily as Uzumaki Naruto could muster, and Sasuke knocked him over the head with his fist. Naruto gripped the forming bump with a whimper.

"Alright, dammit teme! I was only trying to make sure you knew what your pants looked like!" Sasuke's eyes widened. He swallowed and looked away in a blush, trying to adjust his black wrap around and belt to cover up said things. Naruto giggled childishly and rubbed the large bump on his head. He was going to joke once more, but then he had a sudden burst of an evil idea. His eyes narrowed, his face in a sly grin.

"Say, teme.. you know, Kiba and Sakura have become.. quite close.." Sasuke frowned. Where was he going with this?

Naruto saw his best friend react and took the liberty of continuing.

"I mean, I think I saw them out at the bar together yesterday.."

_...Hn?_

"...and we all know that Kiba has the hots for Sakura.."

_HN?_

"..he's probably itching to get into her pants right now.."

_...HNNNN?_

"... and Sakura's touching his naked chest, her fingers sliding down his stomach, to his-"

Sasuke was gone. Naruto put his arms behind his head in victory and closed his eyes in a grin.

"He's totally gonna get laid today." He said happily to himself and headed to Ichiraku's.

* * *

><p>Sasuke walked quickly through Konaha, his mind raging as he thought of Naruto's words. They shouldn't have affected him as much as they did. He frowned and shoved his hands in his pockets. Che, Sakura was so annoying. She <em>always <em>made it into his thoughts. He scowled and headed quicker to the hospital, formulating just what it was that he intended to do and accomplish by this. _  
><em>

In his mind, in a smooth system of events, he would walk up to Sakura and tell her that he needed help doing his laundry (in his head, it sounded like a solid plan), and Sakura, being the motherly type that she was, would follow him to his apartment to help him. And then he would shove her against the wall or onto the bed (he hadn't decided which just yet) and kiss her until her lips were bright red. He swallowed heavily. It was a plan.

He walked into the hospital, and headed to her patient treatment room. He stopped outside her door and went over his words once more. He was going to do it. He reached for the handle to the door, when Kiba let out a very long moan from the other side of the door.

His eyes narrowed, Sharingan activating in anger, plan forgotten. He shoved open the door with one fluid motion and stepped in.

"Sakura!-"

She jumped an turned towards him, a bloody kunai in her hands. Her eyes widened.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here-"

He had to think of a new plan first. The dog boys smirk told him that he was enjoying every moment of being treated by Sakura. He _had _to change plans. He quickly ran through all possible things to say to get her away from the room and out of the hospital, but found there were none coming to his mind. He stared at her plump, parted lips, and said the first thing that came to his head.

"Sakura, we need to have intercourse right _now._"

* * *

><p>There was a long period of silence in the room. Even Kiba kept his mouth shut even though he was smirking very largely. A blush threaded over Sasuke's pale cheeks, but he held it back. Sakura's mouth flapped open and she blinked rapidly. The kunai dropped through her fingers and hit the floor with a clanging sound.<p>

"_N-NANI?" _

Sasuke frowned. He didn't like to repeat himself.

"Hn."

"_I-I-" _

"You heard me, Sakura." He said quickly, _really _hoping that he would not have to repeat his last sentence. Kiba giggled in a Naruto-like manner behind Sakura, and Sasuke frowned. Sakura shakingly put her hands to her head, and blinked more. Her lips were still open wide.

"I-I don't understand-"

Sasuke was getting fed up. But, being the stubborn Uchiha that he was, he stuck to his story.

"Intercourse", he started sarcastically, his ears heating up, "when a man and woman-"

"_I KNOW WHAT INTERCOURSE IS SASUKE-KUN!" _Sakura screeched, and Sasuke scoffed, putting his hands back in his pockets. This was going bad. Kiba muffled another bout of laughter, and Sakura quickly pushed Sasuke back out the door and into the hallway, shutting it behind her. Kiba continued to laugh. Sakura looked up at Sasuke, her face blushing red.

"Why?" Is all she said. He rolled his eyes.

"Why not?" He countered. Sakura swallowed.

"A-Ah...but it's the middle of the day!" She said quickly. Sasuke scoffed.

"And?"

"And..I'm at work!"

"Take the day off!" Sakura clenched her hair.

"Do you even have.. protection?" She whispered shakily and Sasuke frowned. He shrugged.

"We'll buy some on the way." Sakura's lips twitched.

"You don't even like me, Sasuke-kun!" She accused him once more, trying to find an excuse out of this, but Sasuke was adament.

"Really?" She opened her mouth to yell the obvious answer, when her lips were muffled by his. She let out a noise of surprise, but he was already dragging her out of the hospital and in the direction of the nearest pharmacy. And then his apartment.

"_Sasuke-kun!" _Sakura screeched once more, trying to reason with him, but it was a failed attempt.

He smirked.

And then.

SEX.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Yaaay. Sasuke you stubborn bastard you know you like dat ass of Sakura's. But yeah, I feel like if he got himself trapped in that situation, instead of trying to get out of it, he would just be stubborn and stick it through for his prides' sake. LOL. Hope you enjoyed!_


	15. XV

**A/N: **_Hmm.. let's see just how Sakura's side of the story looks for this event, shall we? *evil laughter* *cough hack cough*_

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><p><strong>XV. Her Side of the Story<strong>

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><p>Contrary to Sasuke's shit hole of a week, Haruno Sakura was having a <em>marvelous <em>week.

She was growing quite the chest (_ha, take that Hinata!_), she received her paycheck from the hospital the other day, which she spent on some new clothes, food and a nice pair of heels, and overall, she was just very happy. Content.

That didn't count when Sasuke walked in on her shirtless. No matter how much she loved him, his reaction was ingrained in her mind forever. His hand gripping the doorknob, lips parted, eye twitching- She reacted on instinct, and ended up having to pay for rebuilding the walls later.

When she woke up that morning, it was early, and she felt refreshed. She took a shower and dressed in her training gear, slipping on her gloves as she hummed a tune. She got to the training grounds early, and found only Sai and Kakashi there. Kakashi was already waving her and Sai to begin and hid behind his porn book as Sai began to attack.

They fought well, but in the end, Sakura had the upper hand with her mastery of taijutsu. And when Sai slipped on a tree branch miraculously while running, Sakura took her time to land a punch to his cheek sending him back first into a tree. Of course, being the loving teammate she was, she ignored his grumbling and healed his back to the best of her ability. That's when Naruto arrived, and Sai took his seat away from the two.

She smiled when she felt Sasuke's chakra approach the group. Quickly, she landed a punch on Naruto, letting her anger fuel the chakra as she caught him oogling her chest, and turned to Sasuke. She wasn't a fangirl anymore, che, she was better than _that_, but she valued him as a teammate, and a friend. And, she had to admit, he was still hot.

"Sasuke-kun!" She waved to him and saw that his eyes narrowed at her, and then he huffed. She turned back to Naruto, seeing him trying to get another attack on her, but once more, his eyes fell to her chest, and she kicked him. In a short amount of time, Naruto was done for. Sakura smiled to herself and decided that she might as well ask Sasuke to spar with her. She headed over to him, a smile finding its way to her lips.

"Sasuke-kun, you're next! Let's spar!" She said happily, and watched as his lips formed into a scowl.

"It would be a short fight." He snorted.

Inner Sakura came out, raising her fists to him.

_What did you say you sexy bastard? CHAA I'LL BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU!_

Sakura's eye twinkled with irritation. Her fist was raised, ready to _show _him just how short of a fight it really would be, but Sasuke looked away, and towards Sai.

"Why isn't _he_ sparring?" He asked curtly. Sakura raised an eyebrow and then looked at Sai, on the ground painting. She let out a small, guilty giggle. She explained quickly that she had damaged Sai's back earlier, and ignored Sai's muttering and grunts of disapproval. Sasuke's lips formed a scowl once more.

"I'd rather right Naruto." He said prompty, and she lost it, gasping. Inner Sakura was flaming, her knuckles cracking, her eyes wide in complete anger. _Really? _She screamed. _But who was it that just won to Naruto, Sasuke-kun? _Sakura's lip twitched. She slowly raised her hands to her chest and began to crack her knuckles. That was it. No matter how much she loved that pretty face of his, he was about to be in for the beating of his life.

"Are you calling me weak, Sa-su-ke-kun?" She let his name move on her tongue slowly, almost seductively. She saw him swallow.

"Hn."

She rolled her eyes. As much as she loved him, he was such a ridiculous conversationalist. She would have to wait to have her sparring match with Sasuke obviously. Her eyes landed on her sleeping sensei and her lips raised in a devious smile. Kakashi-sensei, however, would not be as lucky to get out of fighting her. She turned away from Sasuke and waved a hand at him in a sassy manner. She felt his eyes on her backside and blushed.

"Talk to the hand Sasuke-kun", she called over her shoulder and wriggled her fingers, "I'm going to ask Kakashi-sensei."

She heard Sasuke wake up Naruto, and ignored Naruto's weak protests against her "fighting dirty". She scoffed, but let out a giggle and a shrug. Then, she turned her attention to Kakashi.

Her plan was to land a solid, but small flick to the base of the tree, as she knew that it would break the trunk, and Kakashi would fall with the tree, waking him up. She grinned, and was about to execute her plan, when her pager buzzed. She cursed. She hated this call out schedule they had her on. This meant that any patient the nurses deemed worthy of her attention was immediately sent to her, no matter where she was at the moment. She looked at the screen and rolled her eyes.

Dammit. Not Kiba again. He was a smart ninja, and yet somehow, he kept showing up in her room with stupid injuries. Wounds that he could have easily avoided. She frowned once more. She told her team what had happened and bid them goodbye, moving herself to the hospital in a cloud of smoke. She headed into the patients room and saw Kiba lying on the table, a small, innocent grin on his handsome features.

"What happened now?" She sighed and reached for her doctors coat, pulling it on over her training gear. Kiba pouted slightly.

"Naruto taught Hinata how to send kunai out in a 360 motion a mile a minute." Sakura rolled her eyes and cursed Naruto internally. She sighed and pulled off her training gloves, washing her hands in the sink. She pulled on a pair of rubber ones and stepped towards him. She helped him sit up and stripped him of his shirt. He winced.

"Thanks for this, Sakura. Again." He said softly, and she nodded with a small smile.

"Anytime."

They were silent as she slowly began to remove the kunai, ignoring Kiba's grunts, and pressed her chakra to the wounds to seal them. She reached a deep one on his stomach, and was about to grip the hilt to pull it out, when Kiba spoke softly, addressing her.

"Do..ah, do you want to go out to dinner with me sometime?" He was blushing, and Sakura jumped, looking up at his eyes. She swallowed and bit her lip. Her fingers fumbled with the kunai, aiming to pull it out, but his words continued to echo in her ears. She sighed and pulled away from Kiba, her eyes down at her feet.

"Kiba, you're really sweet..but... I'm.. still in love with Sasuke, I'm sorry." She whispered. His hand fell on her arm and she looked up, lips parted in a breath. Kiba smiled at her and nodded in understanding.

"I tried. It's alright, I understand. I hope he makes a move soon, Sakura."

"Thank you." She whispered, and he smiled at her.

She wiped away a tear and nodded. God, Kiba was such a good guy. She hugged him tightly, ignoring his grunts of pain and pulled back to continue healing him. Her fingers fell back on the kunai in his stomach and she pulled it out slowly, knowing it would hurt.

Kiba let out a long groan in pain. Sakura quickly applied pressure and chakra to the area to hold down the pain, when the door to the room shot open.

"Sakura!-"

She jumped, her eyes wide. She knew that voice. She gripped the bloody kunai in her hands and turned around to the doorway of the room, lips parted. What was Sasuke doing here? She fought back the urge to bite her lip in nervousness.

"Sasuke-kun?" She started in confusion, "What are you doing here-"

He cut her off, and his words made her want to melt into a puddle of goo right there.

"Sakura, we need to have intercourse, right _now._"

* * *

><p>Her lip twitched. In the back of her mind, Inner Sakura was having quite the screaming party, and was raising her fists in victory.<p>

_CHA! I KNEW HE LOVED US! QUICK, SAY YES SAY YES WE NEED TO GET SOME OF THAT FINE ASS-_

Her lips dropped open and she let out a breath, blinking rapidly. She could hear Kiba behind her letting out a very low chuckle at the irony. His bloody kunai slipped from her fingers and carelessly clattered on the tile floor. She was still processing his words, when she spoke in clarification. Honestly, she had planned to sound more refined than she did.

"_N-NANI?_"

A frown formed on Sasuke's handsome features. Was he real? Was this Sasuke? It couldn't be! She couldn't sense any other chakra signature than his, so it wasn't an imposter, nor was it Naruto in his form. And Sasuke didn't appear to be on any narcotics, drugs, or under the influence of alcohol.

"Hn."

She shook her head once more, and tried again to speak.

"_I-I-"_

"You heard me, Sakura." She swallowed, lips falling back open. She tried not to let a large blush come to her cheeks, but it was already forming. Behind her, Kiba was giggling. This was bad. Very bad. Sasuke wasn't acting like himself and she couldn't retain his words. However, in the light of the moment, Inner Sakura was having a rave party, and was screaming at Sakura to just agree to Sasuke's demands and get down and dirty in the sack. Slowly, with shaking fingers, she raised her hands to her face and blinked again. She tried to shut up the voice in her head, but it wouldn't go away.

"I-I don't understand-"

"Intercourse", he began speaking, and she could hear the sarcasm dripping from his words like honey, "when man and a woman-"

Just how _stupid _did he think she was? She was not about to let him explain to her what sex was right in front of a patient! She blushed deep red, lips opening.

"_I KNOW WHAT SEX IS, SASUKE-KUN!" _She screeched, hoping that would stop him from embarrassing herself and potentially him. She heard him scoff, and then Kiba was muffling a very loud laugh. Kami, this was not happening now. This was not Sasuke. Was it? She bit her lip. She had to get them out of here before it got worse. She quickly shoved Sasuke into the hallway, stepping out and shutting the door on Kiba's laughing commentary.

There was so much she wanted to say, to ask him if he was okay, if he was _sane_, what the hell he was doing, if he was on drugs, but all she could form was one word.

"Why?" She asked calmly. Yes, indeed. Why everything? She watched his dark eyes roll.

"Why not?" He said back. She almost choked on her spit. _What? _Her fingers twitched. Was this really the Sasuke she knew? She blushed harder. She needed to get out of this situation, it was far too embarrassing. And he would probably regret it later. She thought of the first reason (and there weren't many) to not have sex with Uchiha Sasuke and went with it, ignoring Inner Sakura's roars of protests.

"A-Ah.. but it's the middle of the day!" She said, offering him a small smile to explain her words. She heard him scoff and she wanted to pull her hair out.

"And?" He countered. _AND?_ she screamed in her head. Her palms shook and she continued to blush.

"And..I'm at work!" _Smooth Sakura_, she thought and sighed internally. Sasuke, however, seemed to want to get his way.

"Take the day off." She was torn between slapping him across the face to make him snap out of it and kissing him and ravishing him right here in the hallway. Kami, why was her life so hard? Her week had been going so well..

She gripped her hair tightly between her fingers, when another thought came to mind, and she blushed again.

"Do you even have.. protection?" She swallowed, and waited for him to respond. She did not expect him to respond so calmly with a shrug and a frown.

"We'll buy some on the way." Inner Sakura was raving again, and Sakura lost it once more. _NANI? _She blushed hard. He was serious. Seriously serious about this. She swallowed. No matter how much she wanted Sasuke, she had to fight it, to return to normalcy for at least one minute. Her lips twitched at his answer. Kami Kami _Kami fucking dammit_. She was so tempted to give in, _oh so tempted_, to just let him drag her to his apartment.

"You don't even like me, Sasuke-kun!" She tried to protest once more, playing her final card. She knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it.

"Really?" She gaped. She was about to scream at him that yes, yes he did _not _see her like that, it was so obvious, when his lips covered her own, tongue pressing against hers. She was done for. She let out a mewl of surprise, but indeed, he had won this battle. Then, he was dragging her out of the hospital, and she felt bad for Kiba, he wouldn't be treated anytime soon.

She grasped the reality of what was happening and blushed deep red.

"_SASUKE-KUN!" _She screeched, but his hand tightened in hers. This argument went down like the Titanic. At her reference, she imagined an even dirtier picture in her mind. Inner Sakura had already died and gone to heaven, leaving Sakura to enjoy Sasuke all to herself.

SEX.

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><p><strong>AN: **_HA! Glad I finished both in one night, it makes more sense and I have no work to do tomorrow, which is good cuz midterms. *props up legs on desk* Ahh sweet relaxation. Hope you enjoyed!_


	16. XVI

**A/N: **_CAN I JUST TAKE A SECOND TO FANGIRL OVER NARUTO CHAPTER 685 OMG OMG I DON'T EVEN I CAN'T EVEN. This just proves how strong willed Sakura is, and how she is READY to do ANYTHING to save Sasuke. AHH MY GOD AND HIM CATCHING HER. DO NOT BRUSH IT OFF AS ANYTHING PLS DO NOT BECAUSE HE'S STILL HOLDING HER WHEN OBITO IS SPEAKING AHEM._

_Anyways, I thought I would make today's prompt for 685! And this is a day early so chaa! Also, I DO NOT OWN Kishimoto's **/beautiful, amazing/** moment or his work of Chapter 685, I merely put Sakura's perspective to it since you don't really see it. Enjoy c:_

**_P.S. THIS ENTIRE CHAPTER IS SPOILERS FROM NARUTO 685 SO DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T CAUGHT UP ON THAT MANGA YET_**

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><p><strong>XVI. Indestructible<strong>

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><p>Her heart was pumping at an incredible rate.<p>

Adrenaline filled her veins. Anticipation _Exhileration. _

She was not ready to give up this fight. If there was a silver lining, she was sure she was close to hitting it. Her palms were clammy, and her pink hair fell against her forehead, sticky with sweat. She tried to control her panting breaths, but her rapid heart rate wouldn't allow it.

They were in. Good.

She could feel her chakra slowly, but surely feeding down into the man who's shoulders she had clasped tightly. The dark weavings of her Hyaugou chakra rolling down his arms and neck, mercilessly donating her power to him. She winced, but didn't give up. She was better than this. _She would hold on_. She had had worse, and though she was close to her chakra limit, it was enough. Enough to save him.

"Haaaah..." She breathed out, letting out a string of pants. Her eyes were narrowed in frustration, and mild pain.

Blood seeped down from the whites of his eyes in front of her, and the dimension began to form. She panted once more and willed herself to control her breathing. There was a sulfuric smell in the air, and a waterfall of acidic liquid flew through the small portal. Her eyes widened, but she stood still. The man in front of her was already on his knees in exhausted collapse as the acid flew at them. She raised her arm to shield him, feeling it burn through her jounin vest and shirt. She winced once more.

She covered him from the splatters, before her clothing began to sizzle. _Shit_, she thought, and instantly began to pull off her vest, chucking it aside. The acid was eating a large hold in the back of the material. She frowned and looked down, realizing it was also on her arm. With a hiss of breath she ripped the material off of her arm, chucking it also aside to look at her skin. It was patchy and red, painful, but not serious. She panted, gripping her arm tightly.

"Are you okay?" The man questioned to her quickly. She let out a breath and winced harder.

"I'm fine.. this is nothing.." She said. It was true. She had already been impaled by a sword. She didn't think it could get worse than _that_.

"You're a medical ninja right? Let's wait until your wounds have healed." Her eyes narrowed.

"Let's rest for a while." He continued. She fought back a hiss. _  
><em>

_No._

Time wasted was bad in this situation. It wasn't about her right now, she was not going to end up being a burden once more. She was done lagging behind everyone. Done holding them back. Holding herself back. She gripped her arm tightly, applying pressure. Tsunade had raised her stronger than this. It wasn't over. She would not rest easy until _he _was safe at her side. She had to be indestructible for him. For herself.

Over her soft panting, a small smile formed on her lips. Her eyes went gentle. _Naruto..._she thought,..._Sasuke-kun...__I will be beside you this time! I will not watch your backs!_ The man in front of her narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Why don't you heal your own wounds?" He asked quickly. He didn't understand. And to be honest, she didn't either. But it had to be done. She offered him a gentle gaze.

"My chakra has a limit", she murmured, "let's go on."

He looked down and they shared a silence. And then, he was following her words. She gripped his shoulders once more, chakra running through his skin down to his body and she panted. The pain on her arm wasn't going to let up, so she chose to ignore it.

The dimension slipped open once more in front of her eyes. She gritted her teeth. There was no one in her line of sight. Then, she saw it. A dark body against the blazing sun of the desert sand. It wasn't a mirage, she thought, _he _was there. She acted rapidly, her mouth opening in a roar.

"SASUKE-KUN!" She screamed, and she saw his head turn in question. He didn't move. She frowned deeper and used what little strength she had left in her body to react again.

"_SASUKE-KUN! COME HERE! HURRY!" _She roared, and then he was moving. Moving fast. She felt her chakra slipping against Obito's shoulders, and arms. The dark lines slowly began to recede up his legs and arms. She fought to hold them there, but they inched upwards. _Dammit_, she panted. The portal began to diminish as her chakra did from Obito's body and she panted harder, licking her lips. This wasn't the end, she thought, there _was _a silver lining.

There had to be.

But as he slowly disappeared into the small circle, she began to loose a shred of hope. Her chakra receded at a faster pace until it only covered Obito's shoulders and her own body. She gritted her teeth.

"Sasuke-kun!" She said once more, her final try. Her eyes met his, before the portal closed. Her chakra shot off of Obito and up her arms. She pulled her fingers from her vice like grip on his shoulders, and the black vines disappeared back into her forehead. She was faintly aware that she was beginning to feel dizzy.

This couldn't be it. No, there had to be another way. She hadn't just lost her chance at saving him.

Her breathing was erratic, her eyes slipping closed in pain.

"Shit." Obito cursed, and he himself was weakly breathing. Sakura gritted her teeth. Slowly, her chakra thumped into a dull glow in her body and her vision blurred, swaying. _No! _She thought as her knees buckled, and she felt herself slowly falling backwards. She was ready to hit the hot sand, ready to give up. She had failed him once more. _Failed them. _

_It's... over._

The pain in her body refused to let her register that she hadn't collapsed to the ground. Had she been quite conscious, she would have reacted differently. She let out a weak breath, feeling her hair stick to her face. There was warmth across her back and fingers were on her burnt arm. Her eyes opened slowly, and she turned her head, ignoring the pain, to stare through half lidded eyes into the bright redness of the Sharingan.

Her lips parted, and his face was grim. His eyes met hers, and she breathed out, her weight against his. She swallowed weakly.

_Sasuke-kun_.. _I didn't fail you.. this time.._


	17. XVII

**A/N: **_SO I WAS originally planning on doing a darkfic for this one shot, but I've been having the worst case of writers block in my life so if I did write something dark or angsty, it would make so many of you laugh. So instead, I'mma just go light with this. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XVII. Monster(s)<strong>

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><p>The Uchiha compound was silent.<p>

The setting sun illuminated through the windows, casting a hazy glow into the rooms. Sasuke sighed out in happiness, and threw his arms up behind his head, and kicked his feet up onto the coffee table. His eyes shut, and he slowly began to drift off into sleep in his lounging position on the couch.

Sakura was on her usual late shift at the hospital, and so it was just Sasuke. Sasuke, and his darling little boy.

Who was now already in bed and asleep. And Sasuke was slowly joining him in a slumber, lips parting as he began to drift away, breath weak, mind slowing down-

"Daddy! Can you check for monsters like mommy does?"

Sasuke's lip twitched and he sighed at the small yell coming from his son's room. He braced his hands on his knees and stood up, heading into Itachi's (**A/N: **_or whatever other name you want their son to be called!_) room. He approached the ajar door and pushed it open gently, turning on the light. His eyes went to his son, who was sat up in his bed, pulling his green dinosaur plushie into his arms. He pouted his small lips. Sasuke sighed again.

"Mommy checks for monsters?" He asked curiously, fighting back a deep chuckle. His wife _would _engage in such childish-

"Mhmm! She checks under the bed, in the closet and outside the window for me!" Came Itachi's happy response. Sasuke's lip twitched. He made his way slowly over to his son's bed and stroked his hair, fingers ruffling the dark locks affectionately.

"There are no monsters." He said quickly, _refusing _with all his might to partake in such ridiculous situations. There was no way in heaven or hell that he, Uchiha Sasuke, prodigy, ex-last of the Uchiha clan, was going to subject himself to get down on his hands and knees and look under the bed for something so ridiculously nonexiste-

"Please, Daddy?" Itachi whimpered. Sasuke sighed again.

"Fine." _But only for his son. _He thanked Kami that no one else would have to witness this. Itachi yelped happily and shot up out of the covers to jump up and down on the bed. He wrapped his arms around his father's waist, squishing his plushie against Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke chuckled and wrapped his arms around his four year old son and kissed his head.

"Here goes my pride." He muttered, and gently set Itachi back down and tucked him in. Itachi's green eyes kept on his father, giggling as he watched Sasuke stand up and walk over to the closet. Sasuke opened the door slowly, bending his knees into a defensive stance. He peeked inside and then flung the door open all of the way. Itachi laughed and clapped happily. Sasuke smirked in victory and shut the door, before heading over to the window. He pulled open the curtains and looked out.

Itachi gasped and then giggled.

"The monster must be under the bed, Daddy!" He said, and wrapped his arms around his plush toy. Sasuke closed the curtains slowly and headed back towards the bed.

He mentally said goodbye to the last of his pride as he got down onto his knees at the head of the bed and leaned down to look under Itachi's bed. He lifted up the bedskirt and looked into the darkness, seeing nothing. Not even a stray object, shoe or scroll. He smirked and was about to stand back up, when Itachi's head popped down next to him, peering under into the darkness.

"See? Nothing." Sasuke said and flicked his son's nose. Itachi sighed loudly, probably in relief, and sat back in the bed. Sasuke stood back up and tucked him in once more. He kissed his head and was going to turn off the light and leave the room, when Itachi spoke once more.

"Daddy?"

Sasuke turned back towards his son, hands in his pockets. "Hn?"

"Will you stay with me? Just in case the monster comes back." Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. Did Sakura always do this when she tucked him in? He walked back over to Itachi's bed and sat on the floor by Itachi's head. His fingers found their way back into Itachi's silky tuffs of hair. He closed his eyes and patted his son's head.

Itachi wriggled back into his covers and closed his eyes, his lips parted in small breaths. Sasuke, thinking he was asleep, sighed and leaned his head down onto the bed, deciding he might as well stay a bit longer to be sure. Just as he was drifting off into sleep once more, Itachi's soft whisper cut through the serene silence in the room.

"Daddy?" Sasuke's lip twitched once more.

"Hn?"

"Were you afraid of monsters when you were little?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, before sighing. "No." He murmured. _No, he wasn't afraid of monsters, because at one point he considered himself to be one, _he thought. But he could never say that. Itachi huffed.

"Well they're scary." He said childishly and Sasuke chucked. He stroked his son's head and shrugged.

"They can only scare you if you let them." He murmured.

"I love you, Daddy." A ghost of a smile came to Sasuke's lips at his son's whisper. Sasuke put his finger to his son's forehead, before wrapping his arm around him and closing his eyes once more.

"I love you too." He whispered.

* * *

><p>When Sakura arrived home early in the morning, she almost didn't want to disturb the sight before her. She pressed her palm to her lips to cover any sound coming from her mouth as she stood in the doorway to her son's room, eyes clouding at the sight.<p>

Sasuke had passed out, head lulling in his elbow perched on the bed. His other arm was outstretched towards Itachi, fingers gracing the crown of his head. Itachi was snuggled into his sheets, completely asleep. Sakura smiled warmly and tiptoed into the room. She figured it would be best to wake up Sasuke, he couldn't sleep there all night. She bent down in front of his sleeping face and her lips met his forehead. He stirred, and let out a groan. Sakura giggled and stroked his face.

Slowly, his eyes opened and he began to register what was happening. He smirked and met her eyes, arm retracting from his son's head to cup his wife's chin. He brought her in for a kiss to the lips and she giggled. She helped him stand up, and kissed her son's head airily, careful not to wake him up. Then, she led Sasuke out of Itachi's room, leaving the door ajar and into their bedroom. Sasuke chuckled.

"You check for monsters?" He chided jokingly and Sakura pouted.

"Don't be mean, I used to be afraid of monsters when I was his age!" Sasuke smirked and kissed his wife's forehead. She began to dress into her nightgown, before Sasuke's hands found their way to his hips. She snuggled into his warm, now naked chest with a sigh.

"He made me do it tonight." He whispered in her ear and Sakura suddenly let out a large laugh, slapping her hand over her mouth to muffle it. Uchiha Sasuke? Checking for monsters under the bed? What a sight! Sasuke led her over to the bed and tucked them in, pulling her to his chest. She wrapped an arm around him and giggled.

"We'll make sure the only monsters he'll have to deal with are imaginary ones." She said gently, and Sasuke's hold tightened on her.

"Yes." He agreed.

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><p><em>*Tears up* WHY ARE THEY SUCH AN ADORABLE FAMILY AND WHY IS SASUKE SO HOT OKAY I'M DONE. <em>


	18. XVIII

**A/N: **_Still on a cute-ness and fluff spree, sorry guys! Don't worry, the next one will be total sexy LOLOL. Anyways, hope you guys enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XVIII. Dropping Your Guard<strong>

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><p>Sasuke threw a kunai at the target and watched it zoom through the air and slice the white ring just outside of the borders of the bulls eye on his target. He huffed and crossed his arms. This was stupid. Why did Itachi make it look so easy? He could do this! He was going to show his big brother and Father that he was better than Itachi!<p>

The five year old boy pulled another kunai out of his bag and aimed it at the target. His tongue shot out of his mouth and to the side of his mouth as he frowned, one eye closed. He squinted at the target, pulled his arm back and threw it quickly.

It hit the bulls eye dead on and he jumped up and down happily.

"I'm as good as big brother now!" He said and threw his fists up in the air in victory.

Now he just had to do that _every time _he threw a kunai.

He went over to the target and pulled out the five kunai, holding them in his arms gently. He walked back over to his original standing place, and dropped them to the ground. He picked up one and aimed again, repeating his actions from his last throw.

_He could do this. _

* * *

><p>Sakura kicked a rock with her shoe and huffed grumpily. Her stomach rumbled, and she blushed, wrapping her arms around herself. She was hungry, and it was almost dinnertime.<p>

"Stupid Ino." She muttered to herself with a pout and looked down at her feet as she made her way through the forest.

Ino, Sakura was _sure_, had set her up. The blonde girl had caught her looking at Sasuke during last period with a blush across her cheeks, and Sakura knew that Ino was plotting something. So, when Ino told her about the shortcut home through the small woodlands by the Konaha Training Academy, Sakura didn't want to believe it. But she had forgotten her lunch at home today, and was very hungry, eager to get home to chow down at dinner, and decided to try out the short cut.

"I hope mom makes onigiri." She whispered, and looked back up to see where she was going. She could make out a small clearing in the distance, and she smiled happily, picking up her pace. However, when she came to it, instead of seeing the side street to her house, she saw kunai lodged in a target on a tree trunk, and a small figure stood in front of it. She let out a gasp and hid behind the nearest tree.

Then she saw the dark, spiky hair.

"It's Sasuke-kun!" She whispered and blushed deep red. She dug her nails into the tree trunk and continued to peer around the foliage, watching him. He hadn't heard her approach, and was concentrating on the one kunai that wasn't in the bulls eye. He frowned and huffed, crossing his arms.

"I thought I had it this time!" He grumbled to himself and pulled the kunai out off the tree. He was going to get it this time, for sure!

Sakura let out a small giggle behind her hand. Sasuke-kun was so cute when he was frustrated. She blushed and continued to watch him, seeing him pick up the first kunai of his batch on the forest floor. He pulled his hand back, aiming. Then, Sakura's nose began to tingle. Her eyes widened and she tried to will her body to not react to the sensation but before she knew it, it happened.

"Achew!" She sneezed quite loudly, and then blushed, hiding back behind the tree. Oh, had he heard her? She was so loud! Her heart was thumping loudly in her chest and she swallowed heavily. Just as she suspected, Sasuke swung around quickly, kunai in his hand defensively. Sakura trembled as she hid herself behind the trunk of the tree and out of his line of vision.

"Who's there?" He called, his small face contorting into a frown. Sakura bit her lip and whimpered. Slowly, with a beet red face, she stepped out from behind the tree and looked at her feet. She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath.

"G-Gomen, Sasuke-kun! I-I w-was just-" Sasuke frowned and put down his kunai. Someone had seen him practicing! He turned away from Sakura and hastily picked up his kunai, shoving them and the target into his bag. Sakura looked up, mouth wide, and raised her hand out towards him.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She asked with a wavering voice. Sasuke quickly hugged his bag in his arms and began to run away.

"Go away!" He said frantically. He didn't want anyone to see him so weak! He ran out of the woods and towards his house without another word. Sakura stood in the clearing, her mouth a perfect 'o' shape. She whimpered, and tears came to her eyes. But she wiped them aside quickly, and began to walk in the same direction Sasuke had gone to get out of the woods, whens he saw something glint in the sunlight. Her eyes widened.

She bent down and picked up the kunai shakingly.

"H-He dropped one of his kunai.." She whispered, and began walking again. She hugged the weapon to her chest, and swallowed. Should she give it back to him? Drop it by his house? He must need it! She blushed deeper. _But, _she thought sadly, _he already told me to go away._

Before she knew it, she looked up and saw herself stop in front of the Uchiha compound on the outskirts of the village. It wasn't far a walk to her house, and she swallowed again. Clutching the kunai in her hand, she took shaking steps towards the main door of the compound and knocked quickly and shakingly. She swallowed and blushed. What if Sasuke answered? Would he yell at her again?

Surprisingly, the door slid open, revealing an older boy of about eleven, perhaps twelve. He frowned and looked down at Sakura, who blushed deeper and shakingly held out the kunai towards him.

"H-Hello.. S-Sasuke-kun dropped this while he was training-" The older boy chuckled. He turned his head towards the inside of the compound, and away from Sakura's face. She hurriedly looked down at her feet.

"There's someone here to see you, foolish little brother!" He called. There was a mass of childish grumblings and footsteps, before Sasuke was at Itachi's side. He peered out of the house and looked at Sakura, who was still holding the kunai out to Itachi. He frowned.

"Y-You dropped this, Sasuke-ku-" Sakura started, blushing harder, and Sasuke snatched the kunai out of her hand quickly, hiding it behind his back. Itachi smirked, and let out a small chuckle.

"Say thank you, Sasuke." Sasuke frowned and peered at Sakura, lips pouting.

"Thanks..ah..-" He said slowly, and Sakura looked down, blushing even harder. She put her hands behind her back and rocked on her heels.

"H-Haruno Sakura." Sasuke nodded.

"Thanks, Sakura."

"Y-you're welcome." She smiled down at her feet, and Sasuke watched her curiously. What was wrong with her? Itachi, however, was smirking largely. So she had a crush on his little brother, eh? He chuckled once more, and put a hand to Sasuke's back.

"Thank you for bringing it round, Sakura. Sasuke will see you at school tomorrow." Sakura nodded hastily, blushed and bid them goodnight. She ran away from the compound and towards her house, hiding her face. Itachi laughed and closed the door, turning to his brother, who was holding the kunai in his crossed arms. He frowned.

"Looks like you have a little admirer, Sasuke." Sasuke frowned harder.

"What are you talking about?" Itachi laughed.

"You'll see, someday." He murmured and walked past Sasuke towards the kitchen. Then he thought about it and stopped in midstep, smirking. He turned to Sasuke, who was still frowning in a flustered manner, and smirked. He put his hands in his pockets.

"Next time you're training, foolish little brother, try not to let your guard down." He said airily, and Sasuke huffed, stomping towards his room. Itachi laughed once more.

"Thanks Sakura." Sasuke grumbled as he walked away from Itachi. He pursed his lips in deep thought.

At least he knew her name now.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_The SasuSaku was light in this one, but I still think it's totally cute. If this was ever a flashback in the anime I would cry. Adorbs._


	19. XIX

**A/N: **_As I promised last chapter, a sexier one now LOL. This one turned out very drabble-ish, thanks to my writer's block TT._

RATED M FOR LIGHT LIME. BE WARNED. Ok enjoy! ;D

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><p><strong>XIX. Rusty<strong>

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><p>They were seventeen, filled with raging, adolescent hormones.<p>

Their kisses were sloppy, heated, demanding. His fingers dug into the material of her shirt at her hips, but did not move from that spot. Her own hands greedily explored the creamy muscles of his chest exposed by his white, open shirt. He tried to analyze just _how in the hell_ they had gotten into this situation. Her fingers pressed into his skin and he bit back a moan.

They had been training, he remembered, sparring in a teammate fashion. She was stronger, and could take many of his hits now, and deal many back to him, though he didn't dare use anything more than his sparring attacks. She had mastered taijutsu, he knew, and he found himself out of breath in keeping up with her hits and blows.

Somehow, she had caught him off guard, and his Sharingan had failed to pick up her movements, because her knee shot out from behind him and caught the backs of his thighs. He went down gracefully, ready to spin around and jump back at her, but he was suddenly pinned on the ground, rocks digging into his back. He scowled and panted a breath. In an instant, she was on top of him, hands by either side of his head to balance herself into a propped up position. She had one knee between his legs, the other bent up to grace his hip.

He tried to divert his eyes, because the crouch she was in revealed a hint of cleavage down her shirt and she was already _far __too close_ for comfort. He panted again.

"Got you." She whispered airily, tauntingly. He scowled harder, and was about to grip her arm to topple them over so he could escape, when her lips crashed down on his own ones. He froze.

Silent and brooding as he was, he was still an adolescent male, and sometimes, he had to admit, _sometimes _he found his mind straying, and his blood heating up with the promises of certain.. _things. _And who was he kidding? Sakura was beautiful, attractive. And the image of her breathing heavily from combat, chest rising and falling, alabaster skin drenched in shimmering sweat would be forever ingrained in his mind.

He needed a cold shower.

Slowly, but surely, he began to kiss back, his tongue snaking into her mouth. She thanked him with a muffled moan.

He had nothing more to run from, nothing to keep him from coming home. He had avenged his brother's death as well as his pride and honor as a Uchiha, and he had ended the war, with the help of Naruto. He knew that now, he had to finish his last task as the last Uchiha, and that was to ensure that he wouldn't _always be _the last Uchiha. Of course, he didn't plan on marriage so young, but the thought of actually having to date someone made his mind run wild with distaste.

Would he actually have to go on dates and sit through countless traditions of being in a relationship? He hoped not.

Which is why, when Sakura kissed him out of nowhere, he was thankful. He did not want to have to ask her out on a date later, that would be ridiculous.

His tongue pressed against hers, battling for dominance in her mouth, and her fingers continued their explorations to the crevices of his body. Her palms pressed upwards and pushed his shirt off of his shoulders, fingers jabbing into his collarbones, palms rubbing his shoulders. He muffled a groan. His hands stayed on her hips in hesitation. His fingers did not move, and his brain didn't know what exactly to do.

For two years, he had been confined to hiding out with Orochimaru and Kabuto, so he didn't exactly learn anything about what to do while in intimate relations with someone. Of course, Kabuto had made him read up on books of puberty and bodily functions, but it went no further than there.

When he finally murdered Orochimaru and formed his own team, it was different. They traveled to many different villages to receive intel on Itachi's location as well as the Akatsuki, and that had meant traveling to the sketchier parts of towns. He had been in a few bars, as well as met a few prostitutes along the way. He saw his fare share of body parts, but took no heed to remembering them.

This also included the many times that his female teammate Karin had forced herself on him. The first time he had really seen the expanse of a woman's body, he had been walking to her room to ask her to track down a man, and when he walked in, she had "accidentally" (_he figured she had really planned this_) been in the middle of changing and was bare before his eyes. He had scowled and promptly shut the door.

Back then, he didn't have time to engage in such relations, and no one caught his eye. But now, under Sakura as a result of a sparring match, he was eager to continue.

When she realized that his hands were still placed against her hips rather awkwardly, she chuckled and pulled away from his lips. He scowled, but was silent. She eyed him, her lips upturning in a grin.

"Please don't tell me that was your first kiss." He looked away from her, his scowl deepening. _Yes, _he mentally spat, _I didn't have time for such trivial acts earlier. _Her hand cupped his cheek and turned him back to her face, gently. She smiled at him and shrugged. _  
><em>

"It was mine." She admitted, and then his hand shot up to grip her head. He yanked her back down to his lips in another sloppy kiss, and she sighed. They would just have to figure this out together. She pushed his shirt down to his elbows and continued to kiss him as her fingers went to her shirt. She unzipped the material, feeling the cool air hit her sweaty skin. She blushed, keeping her eyes closed as she opened it and pulled it off of her arms, tossing it aside. She pulled back from his lips to perch herself in his lap, eyes closed in embarrassment. She felt his eyes graze her face, before traveling down to the dark material encircling her chest. She never wore bras during training, they were uncomfortable, and instead stuck to binding her breasts loosely.

He kept his hands on her hips as she shakily moved her hands behind her back to the tie of the cloth. He wasn't objecting to this, and she was filled with as many hormones as he. Hormones that needed to be tamed. She undid the ties and let the material slip down her stomach and to the floor. She fought back the urge to cover herself, but his eyes told her that she didn't need to. She inhaled and waited.

Slowly his hands pulled from her waist and moved up to cover her breasts, large palms warm against the skin. She bit her lip and eased into his touch.

"I-" He tried to start, but she was already leaning back down to kiss him once more. This time, it was tender, and her lip moved against his in a slow, gentle manner. He had always been quick at learning, so he followed her motions, and soon enough, both of them were out of breath. He slowly raised his upper body up into a sitting position so that she was in his lap, and her arms wound around his neck. Her lips pulled from his to kiss every part of his face.

He pressed back his desire to ask her just where she had picked up so much for a first timer.

His hands fell from her breasts gently to press back into the skin of her hips, and she pressed her chest to his, lips traveling down to his neck. She nipped at the skin, lapping it gently, and a moan escaped his lips. Her arms pulled from his neck and she pulled off her gloves, tossing them onto her shirt and continued to press into his muscles. His stomach pulled in in a hitched breath, and her fingers traveled farther downwards to his exposed hips. He swallowed heavily.

But, as soon as they were on his pale hipbones, they skirted back upwards to clasp his neck. He blinked, and she pressed her lips back to his. His tongue licked hers in an amateur fashion and his hands gripped her ass. She slowly began to drag her hips against his, sloping down to grind against his groin. He let out a low growl, and gripped the material of her shorts tighter. She continued her movements, hands moving around him to his shoulder blades. She replaced her lips on his neck, nipping at the skin of his Adam's apple.

Her ministrations became faster, until Sasuke found himself grinding back against her heatedly, erection against her inner thigh. She threw her head back in a pant and Sasuke's head lulled against her neck. Their breathing became erratic, fast, heavy. Had Sasuke not been the unaccomplished virgin in this situation, he would have flipped them over and continued to ravish her. Instead, he lost himself in the heat she was supplying to his crotch.

She rolled her hips against his in an unbearable pace, and he began to shake. Her hands ran down his back and slipped into his pants, gripping the skin of his ass. He growled between panting breaths, and instead buried his head against her breasts, pressing light kisses to the sensitive areas.

"S-Sakura... hn.." He finally was about to form words, and she began to shake against him, her fast grinding pace beginning to send her over the edge. Heat pooled into his stomach and lower, and he felt himself ready to burst. Damn the teenage hormones.

"Sasuke-kun.." She murmured in a heated breath and rode his erection once more, before he was done for. He grinded against her, before letting out a string of curses, pants warm and sticky. He collapsed his head into her chest, and she trembled, twitching against him. She panted once more, and laid her head onto his head. She kissed his hair and smiled.

"You're a bit rusty, Sasuke." She murmured, and he frowned, licking his lips.

"Hn." Her smile turned into a grin.

"Don't worry, next time, you'll be in charge." She said slyly.

He couldn't wait.

* * *

><p><em>Yay. Sorry this wasn't my best, I'm saving it for the Tattoo topic day. Also woo Naruto Movie out in 8 days, are you guys excited? I know I am! :D Hope you enjoyed!<em>


	20. XX

**A/N: **_I'm getting very antsy for the next manga chapter. If it comes out on Sasuke's birthday I will be done forever like i can't. And I have to think of something to write for that day too :O Dammmiit. _

_RATED T+ FOR .. POSSIBLE SITUATIONS. The SasuSaku here is very mild/bland, I mostly just had inspiration to write a crack piece lol, sorry. _

_I don't usually, or ever for that matter, write in the first person, mostly because I find it odd. But I decided to give in for this one. Sorry the last few have been very romance-y. I'll write a different one for the next prompt I promise. Lets just say the inspiration for this hit me like a truck. Anyways, enjoy a llttle early angsty puberty hormones!_

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><p><strong>XX. My Mistake<strong>

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><p>Honestly, as the smartest in my team (<em>really, Sasuke-kun, just admit it, I'm way smarter-er<em>) I should have seen this coming. Or something close to that effect.

I really should have. But it had been my mistake. My biggest mistake up until this point.

I was on a team with _three _other males, what else could have possible happened _but _this? But no. As Haruno Sakura, I take pride in my ability to act as innocent and uncompromised as possible. Because I am. Stop snorting, Kakashi-sensei, I did _not _sneak a peak into your little porno books last month while you were out the room. Che, you bastard.

Anyways.

Today... today is a regular day. Or should I say, _was supposed _to be a regular day. We were to meet in the training grounds like always for some good ol' sparring. So I dressed in my usual, red ensemble, and headed to the grounds. But before I did, I quickly grabbed some fruit to snack on. And _that_ right there proved to be the end of my life as I knew it.

Oddly, when I got to the training grounds, all three of them were already there, waiting for me. I didn't take it to heart, though.

I pulled my fruit out of my bag and began to get ready to eat it, figuring they could wait a bit longer to begin training. It wasn't like Kakashi-sensei _wasn't_ two hours late _every other day_ anyways.

"Hey, guys!" I called out to them, and Kakashi smiled, putting his hands in his pockets. Naruto jumped, and turned in my direction, arms up behind his head. Sasuke didn't look up, but huffed in greeting. And so, I began to eat my banana.

_Big mistake._

So big, in fact, that it put me off of the delicious, yellow wonders for three years. I didn't eat a banana or look at one until I was _sixteen._

The minute my lips covered the a large chunk of the fruit, there was a loud choking noise. With an obnoxious _bang!_, Naruto collapsed out on the ground, hands grasping his throat, expression mildly wavering between total shock and a touch of a stroke. His face was beet red. Kakashi's eyes were wide and on my face, his mouth parted behind the mask. His face was lit up in a healthy pink hue, and he was trying to form words.

Need I remind you, this is a _twenty-five year old man_. Watching his _thirteen year old teammate _eating a banana.

And Sasuke, my _dear_ Sasuke-kun, had finally turned towards the noise that Naruto had made, and was now the picture of embarrassed shock. His cheeks were red from blushing, eye twicting, lips up in a vivid scowl. His hands shot into his pockets. Naruto slowly began to come back to reality.

"S-SAKURA-CHAN-" He finally spoke in a cracked voice, breaking the silence. I raised an eyebrow at them, but kept the banana in my mouth. Why were they acting so weird all of a sudden?

"Hmmm?" I muffled around the fruit in my mouth in response.

There was a collective groan.

I kept my eyebrow raised and took a large bit out of the fruit.

The groans deepened. Naruto was already passed out once more, mouth open as if he had been screaming in the instance of his black out. Kakashi-sensei now looked scared, _very scared_, as if his life just flashed before his eyes. His fingers were twitching as he pulled his hands from his pockets and raised them in my direction. Sasuke was gritting his teeth, pupils dilated, breathing shallow in anxiety. I swallowed my chewed up fruit and walked a bit closer to my team.

"What's up with you guys all of a sudden?" I asked softly, but worriedly. Kakashi swallowed heavily and tried to maintain his composure, lips twinging up into a sort of reassuring smile.

"A-Ah.. nothing, Sakura." He said quickly, and Sasuke snorted.

"Well, alright then." I shrugged. Sasuke delivered a swift kick to Naruto's stomach, and the blond yelped in pain, jumping up into a crouch. He shook his fist at Sasuke, who frowned back.

"TEME, I SWEAR YOU-"

I took another bit out of the banana, slowly entertained by my teammates.

Within seconds, Naruto was already back on the ground, twitching like roadkill. Sasuke looked like he was ready to throw himself in front of a truck. Kakashi began muttering nonsense under his breath. I was frowning now as I chewed my food.

"Seriously," I said between chews, covering my mouth in a lady like manner. I swallowed before continuing, "what the heck is up with you guys?"

When none of them refused to answer, and we basked in the silence, I just decided to ignore them and finish my breakfast. I threw the peel away and wiped my mouth shrugging. By then, Kakashi had already regained his composure, and Sasuke's scowl was going down. Naruto, on the other hand, was still happily splayed out, face red.

I woke Naruto up and we went through our training maneuvers in silence. Shortly after, Kakashi poofed away like usual, and Naruto kept glancing at me. I looked back at him in confusion and he laughed awkwardly, before turning towards the village, probably aiming to get ramen. He waved goodbye to us, and before long, I was alone with Sasuke. I blushed and wiped some sweat off of my brow. I reached for my pack, when Sasuke spoke softly.

"D-Do you want to go get something to eat?" He asked in a blank, but jittered tone. I blushed harder and jumped, turning towards him. His eyes were covered by his bangs and his lips were a firm line.

"A-Ah, okay. What do you want to eat?" I quickly gathered up my stuff, watching as Sasuke threw his bag over his shoulder and started to walk past me in the direction that Naruto had left us by.

"P-Popsicles." He grunted. I didn't catch the blush on his cheeks. Instead, I shrugged and agreed, running to catch up with him.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until I was eating a banana two years after Sasuke left, and Ino had turned to me with a snort. She eyed the other tables around us in the cafe.<p>

"Sakura, stop eating that", she scolded, "there are guys getting _very_ turned on."

That's when it hit me. Memories flooded back to me of the day two years ago.

_"N-NANI?" _

Needless to say, I choked on the fruit, which led almost half of the small cafe to muffle grunts and groans.

Oh, I _was so_ going to use this on Sasuke-kun as blackmail when we got him back.

* * *

><p><em>Yayyy crappy crack. I have writers block still, and it stucks. So yeah, hopefully tomorrow's will be better. <em>


	21. XXI

**A/N: **_This chapter also has CHAPTER 685 SPOILERS SO YES BE WARNED. Other than that, enjoy! c:_

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><p><strong>XXI. Rewind the Time<strong>

* * *

><p>Christ, they were in the middle of the war.<p>

In a desert dimension. Hurt, tired, _exhausted of chakra. _

But his mind wandered. Strayed.

Staring down into those pools of emerald light changed him. It didn't matter what emotion she was portraying through those large orbs of hers, they always made him rethink what he was doing. It was so damn... so.. Kami_, annoying. _

But he let it happen anyway.

This time when his eyes met hers, and the silence hit them like a steady breeze, he conjured up one simple question that took the words out of his mouth, thoughts slowly receding from his brain.

Would he rewind time? Do this differently? Take back what they had as genin? Not grow so close to them? To her? To _anyone_?

It was logical to say that by the look in her eyes, by the stray tears that welled up in the corners of her pretty orbs, that whatever it was she harbored for him when they were little, barely genin, _whatever that feeling was_, she had long since outgrown it. She was not the same little girl who fawned over his every move and constantly asked him for dates and time alone. That was not her. She was like a snake, had shed the skin.

They basked in the silence, and his mind continued on its rampant journey to answer his own question.

He was always found by them, always tracked down, even in the worst of times. He found it irritating, stupid, _immature_ of them that they still tried to get him to come back home, even though they could see the decision in his eyes, on his face. They still tried, as his teammates. He was stubborn, put up a fight, considered Sasuke his brother and she, _she _was the security_. __The warmth_. It never occurred to him that perhaps they had their own reasons and opinions on him. He only focused on his own selfish needs. In the darkness.

He found himself constantly wandering in the void without direction or knowledge, mind completely engulfed in darkness. But he was never in there long enough by himself. Because no matter, _they _would always show up. They would cast a dim light in his darkness, offer him a way out. Sometimes he was so eager, _so sure_, that he should just accept it and step into their light, and other times, he pushed them farther away. He walked his own path, not theirs.

Her skin was soft under his fingertips, her warmth fueling him as she leaned against his strength in the circle of his arm. He was careful not to touch her acid burns, not to cause her any more pain than she had already gone through. He met her steady gaze. _Sasuke-kun, _her face told him confidently, _please come home. Come home to us. To me._

Why was she so goddamned _annoying_?

Since when did she sneak her way into his thoughts, life so?

Perhaps, his mistake of getting so close to them when they were younger had triggered it. He really had, at one point, been sure that he would not have to dwell down this path, path for power and vengeance. So he had taken his time to become the teammate they wanted. They needed. Their support, and in exchange, he received a _brother, _someone who was like him, who knew him. He received a mentor, one who read porn books, but underneath the facade, tried his hardest to maintain their close ties. But what about _her?_

This ... this _woman_ (he would never call her a girl anymore, she had outgrown such) who continuously found him in the darkness and gave him the smallest hint of light? What did she offer him?

_Warmth. _He thought of immediately. _Happiness. _

He fought the urge to scowl at her. Here she was once more, saving him, close to him, wanting him to return back to the village with her. It was ridiculous. Pathetic.

When they were younger, she was a fan girl. Nothing more. In the Academy, he decided, she was just in the sea of girly faces wanting to sit near him, go out with him, be with him. But when they were put on the same team, he began to really see her. See who she was. Beneath the constant dates and reassurances that she still had a crush on him, was a calming, supportive female. Someone he could possibly fit to a mother. She was weak, feeble at times, but intelligent. Strong willed. _Whole_. He lost himself in the bubble gum tresses that blew in the wind, sending her scent of shampoo his way, in the round, emerald orbs that framed her face, in the soft pout of her lips when he was mean to her. In the alabaster skin of her large forehead.

Since when did he value her so?

He decided, the night he left the village, that he would refrain from bonds, that he needed to completely sever the ones he had, because this had gone too far. He was shocked, completely taken aback at seeing her in his way of leaving, in seeing tears glisten in those round orbs of hers. _She was just so fucking annoying_, she was always _there, _even when he pushed her away, told her that he did _not _want her there. She was still by his side.

Kami, he had already tried to kill her twice. But here she was, in the circle of his arms, the light of her world blurring the darkness of his. Why did she keep coming back? She didn't have a crush on him anymore, he knew this much, he made sure that was ended. But why?

_Why was she always in his thoughts?_

In the back of his mind, he supposed, there were things he would take back and try to do over, little things, things that didn't matter. Perhaps he wouldn't have slapped the plate of apples out of her hand when she was just trying to take care of him in the hospital, perhaps he wouldn't have yelled at her for helping him on missions, and then other times accepting her support fully.

But of everything that happened, would he take back any of it?

Whatever it was that pushed her to keep following him, catching him when he fell, whatever it was, it was harbored through her pain and suffering.

So he decided at that moment, while his eyes graced the plump, softness of her lips, as she let out small puffs of breaths, as he scanned her face, and the beauty she had become, that this annoying woman, this stupid, _ridiculous _partner of his, ex-teammate would have to keep finding him in the darkness. Because he expected nothing less of her.

And would he rewind time and do anything over?

_No._

Because there are parts of her, parts of him, that no matter how much they hurt, ached, ruined them, were crucial to bringing them to this very point in time, with her in his arm, eyes gazing into his with sheer warmth and acceptance.

And perhaps someday, he would let her pull him back into the light.

Let those large, deep green orbs and pink silky locks of Haruno Sakura's fill his every crevice and being.

But for now, all he could offer her was continuance. Confirmation that he knew and wholly _accepted _everything she had done for him.

* * *

><p><em>Sorry drabble-ish, but I had a plan for this theme lol. AAAH TWO DAYS UNTIL THE NEXT CHAPTER COMES OUT I AM SO SCARED AND EXCITED I HOPE KISHI-SAMA DOES NOT SCREW OVER THE SS'ERS OR ANYTHING :O PLUS IT WILL BE SASUKE'S BIRTHDAY- Speaking of which, I gotta think of something to write for Wednesday *rubs neck awkwardly* ehuehue.<em>


	22. XXII

**A/N:** _AH MANGA TOMORROW SASUKES BIRTHDAY I AM NOT READY FOR THIS *HYPERVENTILATES*_

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><p><strong>XXII. Exposed<strong>

* * *

><p>As much as Haruno Sakura wanted to be the bigger woman and fight for women's rights and the social boundaries that kept females always wanting to be skinny, slim, and picture perfect; she couldn't. She was as bad as they at times.<p>

In all honesty, she didn't have Ino's fleeting looks and confidence (nor her sunkissed tan), Hinata's swelling chest, TenTen's slim face, or Temari's maneater, long legs.

She huffed and looked at herself in her bathroom mirror, turning to her side to admire her waist. She frowned.

Her waist, she thought, was not slim enough. Sure, it wasn't bulging with fat, and covered with lean muscle, but it wasn't _perfect. _Her eyes trailed up to her breasts and she turned back around to face the mirror. She put her hands under her chest and inhaled. They were .. sufficient, she thought. They weren't _small_, but they weren't on Hinata's level either. She looked at her shoulders, omitting a sigh. They were the one thing she found feminine about herself. Her shoulders were slim, thin, pale.

She dropped her towel and looked down at her legs, turning to the side, back and then side again. They were lean, she supposed, but neither long, nor slim. Temari had that going for her. But not Sakura. She huffed again and bent to pick up her towel. Her hips, she knew they were curvy, and Ino had said that out of all of the girls, Sakura had the widest hips, which was a good thing. She blushed and turned her back to the mirror, inspecting her behind. She clutched the towel in her hands.

Her ass, she decided, was nice. Toned, round, it fit well with her hips, and thighs. She nodded to herself and wrapped herself back in her towel.

That would have to do for now.

She quickly dressed herself in her training gear, heading out to meet her team at their usual spot.

* * *

><p>She was silent as she went through her usual run around the training ground. She was on her fifth lap, when she heard footsteps jogging behind her. Eyes fell on her back and suddenly, Sasuke was next to her, shooting her a questioning gaze. She huffed childishly. Why was he next to her? His legs were longer, and he was probably on his last lap.<p>

"What?" She said between puffs of breath. Sasuke was silent, except for the small pants of breath coming from his lips.

"Nothing." He said simply, and continued at a faster pace past her. She muffled a string of curses between her heavy breathing. As he disappeared in front of her, her eyes landed on his toned legs and ass. She blushed and looked away, focusing on her strides. Che, men had it easier. All they had to do was run and exercise, and they could look perfect. She increased her pace slightly, and ignored Naruto's screams as he ran past her to catch up with Sasuke. She rolled her eyes and continued.

After they had finished, Sakura collapsed on her back, water bottle between her lips. She panted and sat up, taking short sips of water. She wiped her face with her towel and adjusted her ponytail absentmindedly. She didn't realize that Naruto was then crouched next to her, lips pouting, eyes squinted at her face, as if he was in deep thought.

"Say, Sasuke-teme, something's wrong with Sakura-chan." He pouted harder. Sasuke grunted from his crouch by a tree.

"You'll loose braincells doing that, dobe." He commented, and Naruto swung around to Sasuke, shaking his fist at him. Sai giggled from his spot, and Naruto turned back towards Sakura, eyeing her closely. She blushed, but raised her fist angrily, ready to hit him for checking her out.

"Naruto-" She started in a harsh tone, but he put a finger in the air and nodded his head.

"I got it!" He pointed at Sakura's face and nodded vigorously. "Sakura-chan has put on some weight! Her cheeks are bigger!"

Sakura froze, mouth doing dry. This _shouldn't _be affecting her. They were her teammates. Naruto wasn't serious, he was just looking out for her-

She gathered up her belongings and walked past Naruto, avoiding his worried gaze.

"Eh? Sakura-chan-"

"I'm going to take a nap. See you guys later." She offered them a fake, but simple smile, and headed out of the training grounds. She ignored Sasuke's gaze on her back once more, and bit back tears.

* * *

><p>When she got back to her apartment, she quickly took another shower, and pulled her robe around her shoulders. She avoided her mirror and headed into the kitchen, realizing she was hungry.<p>

Her fingers graced the tub of leftover onigiri from last night's dinner, when she hesitated. Naruto's words spun in her mind, and she promptly left the kitchen, and collapsed on her bed.

"Dammit." She whispered, and wiped her cheeks before tears could form. Why was she so affected by this? No girl was perfect, not even Ino, Hinata, or Temari. TenTen too. She sniffed and rolled over onto her stomach with a groan. Being a girl sucked. She remembered the first time Naruto had come back from training with Jiraiya, and he had seen her in the first time in two years.

_"You haven't changed a bit, Sakura-chan!" He said happily. _

She was about to dig her nails into her pillow with anger, when there was a curt knock at her front door. She swallowed and sat up, rubbing her eyes once more. She hoped it wasn't one of Tsunade's men needing Sakura at the hospital for a shift. She wasn't in the mood to work right now. She tightened her robe around her and padded to the door, pulling it open, ready to yell at the person on the other side.

"Look, now's _really _not a good time- Sasuke-kun?" Her eyes widened as she stared up at his calm face, lips parting in a breath. He said nothing, but his eyes told her she should let him in, which she did, watching him stride past her to stand in her kitchen. She shut the door shakily, and turned to him, wrapping her arms around herself. Her eyes caught his once more, and she pursed her lips.

"What-"

"What's wrong?" He cut her off gruffly. She swallowed, and closed her mouth, looking down at her feet.

"Nothing." She murmured, and she heard him snort.

"We've been teammates for years, Sakura, I know when something is bothering you." She bit back a harsh laugh.

"Well at least I know now that you actually paid attention." She muttered, and he was silent. She bit her lip, and her eyes softened. She looked up at him with apologetic eyes, clutching her arms tighter around her.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, I didn't mean to snap-"

"It's fine." He said quickly, and she blushed and looked back down. She shuffled her feet, and looked back at him, waiting for him to speak. When he didn't she sighed again, and decided to meet his question.

"It's nothing." She clarified. He rolled his eyes, but remained silent. She frowned, beginning to get agitated.

"It's just girl problems, Sasuke, don't worry about it." She saw his lip twitch at the drop of the suffix, and she winced, letting out a sigh. She hoped he would just accept it and leave her to be, but she knew him, and she knew that he was stubborn enough to stay until he was satisfied.

"Like what?" She pinched the bridge of her nose, biting her lip. Was she really going to-

"Am I pretty?" She asked out of nowhere, and blushed, realizing what she had just said. She snapped her lips shut and looked back down at her feet, trying to control her blush. Sasuke hissed in a breath, and she swallowed heavily.

"F-Forget I just said that-" She started quickly, eager to cover up her tracks, but he took a step towards her wordlessly. When he said nothing once more, she wanted to push him out of her apartment, embarrassed. Of course _he _wouldn't answer such a stupid question, for all she knew, he thought of her as nothing more than a teammate. He wasn't attracted to her, that was a stupid thing to even wish for. But the silence that filled the room suddenly made her being to ramble, sentences leaving her lips loosely as a string of thoughts.

"I don't think I am." She said, and looked away from him, shrugging. "My face isn't as slim as TenTen's, my looks aren't as fleeting as Ino's, I have the confidence of a sitting duck, my lips are too thin, my knees are bulky, my hips are far too big, my legs aren't slim and long like Temari's, and my chest is as flat as a board. In fact, I consider myself so masculine, that it's far from attractive." She finally lets out a small, bitter laugh, and shuts her mouth. She wills back tears.

Her eyes widen, and snap back to him, as he takes a step towards her. His eyes are cool, blank, and his lips are a thin line. With every step, he scares her. She swallows, and finds herself shuffling backwards with every step he makes towards her. Before she can breathe, her palms are pressed to her hallway wall, back against the flat surface. He is inches from her, hands at his sides. She opens her mouth to speak, but he cuts her off with a deep chuckle.

"You're worried about _that_?" He asks boredly, and she gasps. She wants to push him away, let herself cry, slap him, anything. She feels exposed under his gaze, as if she were completely naked to him. She didn't like it, and wanted him to stop looking at her. But she doesn't move, and he continues, his voice gentler this time.

"Pretty is a mundane, irrelevant word." He deadpans, and slips closer to her. Their noses are close to touching, and she feels his breathe fan her face. She blushes deeply. She parts her lips to perhaps ask him what is happening, when his hands drifts up to her forehead, and his index and middle finger stroke the soft skin. Her breath hitches.

"Your forehead is not too big, and is very soft-"

His fingers move down the bridge of her nose and pull apart so they are resting on her cheeks.

"-your cheeks are high, sloping and as slim as your face-"

She finds no words as his fingers move down to her parted lips, thumb gracing over the bottom one, gently.

"-your lips are not too thin, and are, in fact, very plump and _inviting_-"

She swallows at this, and her blush increases. She lowers her head to avoid his gaze, but he uses his other hand to hold her in place, his eyes boring down into hers. His fingers travel down to her throat, gracing over the expanse of her skin. He lowers his head, and before she can react, his lips are pressed right above his hands. His voice is muffled against her skin, and she shivers.

"-your neck is long and graceful; perfect for my lips-"

She blushes harder, her heart beating, as his fingers run down to stop at the v that her robe is making over her chest. She is beet red, and unable to speak. He lifts his head back up to hers, eyes meeting hers once more, as he continues.

"-your breasts are perfect because they aren't Hinata's, and because they fit in my hands perfectly-"

He blushes at this one, and she gasps loudly. His palms are already cupping her breasts gently, and his eyes avoid hers in embarrassment. She is too stunned to speak. But as soon as he touches her breasts, his hands are gone, fingers heading down to her stomach. He nudges the area with his index finger.

"-your stomach is flat and thin, _far _slimmer than Ino's-" _  
><em>

His hands slope down her sides, and she bites back a giggle at the ticklish sensation. His hands land on her hips, and he gives them a squeeze. She holds back a moan.

"-your hips aren't too wide, in fact they're perfect size for child bearing-"

She is blushing deeply again. In an instant, he grips the back of her thighs, and hoists her up, propping her on the wall. He wraps her legs around his waist, fingers playing with the tops of them.

"-your thighs are _not _Temari's, and are better, because they are lean, and I fit between them,-"

She wriggles against him, feeling the heat in the pit of her stomach increase at their closeness. Instinctively, her hands place themselves on his chest. He takes in a breath and continues, fingers snaking to his sides to play with her knees.

"-your knees are _not _too bulky,-"

His hands snake around her, and cup her ass, and she yelps in surprise, blushing red. His lips find her ear, and he chuckles.

"-I've always been an ass man," he admits, and she swallows as he gives her a squeeze, ignoring her writhes in pleasure, "but yours is definitely the _sexiest-"_

She blushes at his emphasis, and buries her head in his neck.

Finally, he presses her against the wall in support, and his hands cup her cheeks, willing her to look back up at him. She parts her lips, about to speak, when his lips are already on hers in a heated kiss. His tongue snakes out to lick her bottom lip, and she opens her lips, tongue rolling and pressing against his heatedly. Her arms snake around his neck and fingers find his dark locks, kneading his scalp. He moans against her lips, before pulling away. He stares at her closed eyelids and pouting lips.

"Pretty is a stupid word." He repeats his earlier thesis, and strokes her cheekbones.

"I would never use it to describe such a perfect sight before me."

She is already crying, tears streaming down her face, head buried in the warm material of his shirt. His arms snake around her waist and hold her to him.

"Thank you." She whispers quickly, in an almost pleading tone. "_Thank you." _

His lips are already on hers once more, and he is wiping away her tears.

She no longer worried about her looks. Not when she knew how _he _saw her.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Honestly, I could see Sakura as the type of girl to worry about her appearance, naturally, but I think in this piece, I pulled it out a bit more. No flames, I honestly don't think she would be that affected by it. She knows she's fuckin' amazing, gorgeous and cute. She knows. And so does Sasuke. Hope you enjoyed!_


	23. XXIII

**A/N: **_THIS IS POST SHINOBI WAR AND KINDA IMPLIES SOME SPOILERS SO BE WARNED. It is also a bit Sakura-centric. But oh well. #Queen4Ever_

_Happy Birthday to my bae Sasuke, will forever love u srs. Anyways, here's the special piece! I _was _originally planning on doing a separate, new story for Sasuke's birthday, but I'm lazy and kinda busy, so I'll keep it to my SasuSaku Month piece. Also, as I am writing this piece, Chapter 686 has NOT yet been released, so I am itching in anticipation. If you want to see my reaction to it, please read the comments at the end. Anyways, as always my lovelies, enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XXIII. A Hot Cup of Tea<strong>

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><p><em>Time. She keeps telling herself. All he needs is time.<br>She must be patient. Understanding.  
>But she cannot resist inviting him in for tea.<em>

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><p>When they finally get back from the war, life slowly goes back to normal. Well, for Sakura at least. She resumes her work at the hospital and enjoys her new promotion as head medic, and keeps her thoughts clustered with healing those who are veterans of the fight. She lives from day to day in a flurry of blood, medicine and the smell of cleaning fluids. She works late, and does not get much sleep in, but it is normal for her.<p>

She is used to this.

Team Seven, after their reunion during the fight, seems to have split apart for the time being. Naruto always has meetings now with Tsunade, classified meetings, but by his wide smile that she sees him sporting when they pass by each other in the street, it is good news that he bears. Sasuke is a ghost to her, and not in the worst way. At first, she sees him in the hospital, and for a short period of time, he is her patient, but then he is gone into the arms of ANBU and she knows he will be busy.

Sai is in and out of her life with muttered insults and fake smiles, as usual, and the only member of her team that she sees regularly is Kakashi. He visits her between shifts, when he is on his break from meetings and reports from the war. She heals him, checks up on his Sharingan, and he keeps her company. She labels him her dear friend, almost a fatherly figure. She knows he is still apologetic for the hurt he has caused her (_Sakura, everything is going to be alright_). But now, he is finally right, and when she clings to him during her lunch shift, he can't help but stroke her hair and tear up too. Everything will be alright, she agrees.

Six months after the war has ended, she catches sight of _him_ in the street while she is doing her periodic food shopping at the market. Her hands are full of fresh plums and grapes, but her legs nevertheless turn into jelly as her eyes gaze at his pale face and dark features. She turns away before he can meet her eyes, a small smile gracing her lips.

She must be patient, she tells herself. Everything comes in time.

She hears little tid bits from Naruto, when he finally visits her one Sunday morning, and she learns that Sasuke is under watch and is not to do much during his days. With a laugh, Naruto tells her of Tsunade's meeting with him, and of her barking and scolding words. She giggles into her hand, and her mind creates an array of images of this situation.

A month later, she approaches her eighteenth birthday, and it is both a blessing and a curse. With Naruto's help (she doesn't dare send the news back to Sasuke, he wouldn't do anything about it either way, she supposes), and Ino's persistence, she moves out of her parents' house and into a small apartment over a cake shop in the heart of the city. When she finishes, Ino pesters her to come out for drinks with the girls, and the boys. They are eighteen now, Ino argues hotly, and the council agreed to a drop in the age to drink because of the war. It won't last forever, nudges Kiba with a wink, she might as well enjoy it while she can.

She doesn't inherit Tsunade's tolerance for alcohol, she learns that night when her world sways from two bottles of sake. She sleeps off the hangover til late the next afternoon and then wills herself to get some fresh air. She goes to the graves to pay her respects to fallen comrades, when she spies him over in the corner between two gravestones. She lays her flowers at the appropriate graves quickly and exits without a word.

_Time, _she says to herself over and over again, _all he needs is time. _

She begins to grow restless.

A year passes from the war, and he has yet to speak to her. It does not bother her, she tells herself, because he just needs time. More time, and more moments. She needs to be understanding. He is probably still under watchful eyes, and it is likely that he will have to retake his shinobi exams. She must be patient.

A visit from Naruto the next week reveals to her two pieces of information that make her simultaneously drown in a flurry of emotions. First, Naruto has been placed by Tsunade as high ranking on the list to succeed her as Hokage. Naruto must still take his Jounin exam, of course, and she would like it if he could apply for ANBU too, but someday, _one day_, he could succeed her. Sakura sheds tears of happiness for him and they share a tight hug.

The other piece of news that he bares hits her from all different angles, and she doesn't know just exactly how to react.

"Sasuke is planning to open up and remodel the Uchiha compound for living."

Her lips part. She is happy for him, of course, but she catches her heart beating at a rapid pace. This confuses her, and she cannot place an emotion to her reaction. In the end, she smiles and shares her happiness once more with Naruto before he bids her goodbye to resume his training.

Three months later, she and Naruto are placed on the list to complete the Jounin exams. Her face droops a slightly when she does not see his name on the list, and she learns that he will be taking the next slot at next years, as he has only just passed his Chunin exams and has not completed the grace period.

_Patience_, she tells herself, _is a virtue._

She does not meet him face to face until she bears her Jounin vest in pride and confidence. It is a rainy, spring afternoon, and the air has begun to turn humid with the promise of summer approaching. She is underneath her umbrella, and her heels click on the street concrete as she makes her way down the deserted pathway into the city. Her thoughts are on her tea pot, that is perched on her counter at home, next to a new batch of sugar cookies that she made this morning. Her mind is on the lovely cup of warm, chai tea she will indulge in with a few cookies when she gets home.

Her eyes are fixated on the ground, and her mind is far from the instantaneous moment, so she doesn't register what is happening until she bumps softly into a warm body. A small noise of surprise that sounds like an "oh!" escapes her lips and she pulls back, as to not hit the person with her umbrella. Her eyes peer up suspiciously at the figure, and her pupils dilate tenfold.

She wants to say his name, to let it pass her lips like silk, to roll her tongue around the luscious sounds, but she doesn't. She has to be patient; that is her mantra now.

He turns slowly towards her, and he is also silent, as his dark eyes meet hers. He stares blankly at her, letting the light rain cascade down his face and clothes. His hair clings to his face, framing his handsome cheekbones, and she pushes back the desire to gently stroke his skin. Her fingers twitch, grip the umbrella closer in her hand.

They gaze at each other, and she decides that saying his name right now would only be redundant. But her patience drops, diminishes into nothing, and she finds her mouth opening as she begins to speak.

"Would you like to come in for some tea?" Her voice is soft, light, serene. They aren't far from her apartment, and she figures that he needs to dry off anyways. She forgets about his business and his lack of communication, and begins walking past him towards her apartment.

She doesn't know if he will follow her, but the footsteps that echo on the sidewalk proves her correct.

She considers offering him her umbrella, as he is already wet from the rain, but she assumes that he would not accept it, and chooses not to bother.

With a click and turn of her key, she lets him in the small abode she calls home, and shakes out her umbrella. He stands, hands by his side, in the entryway, watching her as she moves about her apartment, stepping out of her shoes, hanging up her coat, placing her soaking umbrella in the kitchen sink to dry. She grabs a towel from her linen closet and hands it to him, fussing about how he could get a cold if he didn't dry himself off the least.

She takes his wet coat from him and is happy to see that his other clothes, bar his pants, are relatively dry. She ushers him into the kitchen once his shoes are off and deposited next to hers by the door, and sits him down at the kitchen table. He is his silent self as she is finally able to put on her chai tea to boil. She unwraps the cookies and places the plate on the table in front of him, not physically offering him any, but also not showing him that he cannot indulge in one. Or two.

He does not touch the food in front of him, and she doesn't worry about it as she pours out two cups of tea. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots him wrapping the towel around his neck, fingers pulling up the edges to dry out some of his dripping locks. She fights back a small giggle and serves the cups of tea. She sits across from him at the table, but does not meet his eyes as she sips her liquid heaven.

He sips his own tea, and goes back to pressing the towel to his hair and neck. She nibbles on one cookie, and then two more, before finishing her tea with a satisfied sigh. She doesn't think to attempt a conversation with him until she feels his gaze on her face. Her heart skips a beat.

"I'm so proud of Naruto for being on Tsunade's list for Hokage." She starts in a hushed voice. His hands freeze on her towel, and then he drops the material back around his neck. He sips his tea.

"Hn."

"Congratulations on passing your Chunin exam once more." She says happily, and offers him a small smile. He looks away and downs the rest of his tea.

"Aa."

She gives up trying, and plays with the rim of her empty cup. Her eyes roam everywhere but his face, and she licks her lips. Then her mind strays to the date, and the month. She sucks in a breath.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun", it is the first time his name graces her lips, and it feels like honey, "isn't it your birthday tomorrow?"

"Aa." She smiles to herself, and nods.

"Perhaps I'll make you some tomato onigiri." She murmurs, and he doesn't respond.

_Time, _she whispers forcefully to herself once more, _all he needs is a bit of time-_

"Naruto told me that you're planning to open up the Uchiha compound to live in again."

The words slip from her mouth as easy as air, and she instantly wants to take them back. Her eyes widen, and she slaps a hand to her mouth, in shock and disgust with herself. _This is not being understanding_, she scolds herself. _This isn't patience._

"Yes." He agrees blankly, and her jaw unhinges beneath her hand. She is not merely shocked that he has responded to her, but that he is so collected about it. She swallows heavily, and an awkward laugh escapes her mouth through her fingers.

"A-Ah, that's going to be a lot of cleaning, so much dust and all!" She says quickly and her eyes close to avoid his gaze. She replaces her hands in her lap and finally raises her eyes to meet his. Surprisingly, he stares back at her with the intensity of when he caught her during the war. This unnerves her, because his thoughts and emotions are unreadable. She swallows once more.

"Help me."

His voice shows hints of cracked tone, and she wants to fall to the ground in sheer shock. She is dreaming, perhaps, in her bed right now. She never ran into him on the street, he is not in her kitchen having a cup of tea with her right now.

"N-Nani?" She whispers so quietly, that she almost thinks that she imagined saying it. But his huff of breath tell her that no, she _really _did say that.

"Aa." She swallows once more. Her head is nodding swiftly before she can even make up her mind.

"Yes." She finally agrees.

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><p>As she had predicted, the household is covered in dust and debris, not to mention most of the rice paper screen doors are rotted, stained, or damp from rain. It is a mess, she agrees, but they can fix it. Rebuild it.<p>

All it takes is a bit of patience, she says to herself with a smile.

There is a small garden outside of the front entrance, and she stops at it, her eyes gracing over a sad sight. She feels him stop in front of her, as if he knows that she is stopped too, her attention on something other than the household. He turns to see what she is looking at, and his mouth forms a grim line.

"Oh..", she murmurs, and looks down at the small, red object encased in green and brown thorns and stems.

"The last rose of the dying bush.." She finishes, and looks at the flower with a sullen face. The bush itself is withered to dark browns and earthy greens, roots and stems curled up with the lack of care. But among the dying thorns is a small, ruby red rose. The leaves and some outer petals around the edges are already dead and are hanging on to the rose, but the rest of it is quite live and pretty.

She gasps as his hands shoots out and snaps the stem of the rose right above the first thorns. Her eyes well up with tears that she cannot place an origin for. It's just a rose, she tells herself, merely a flower. But it is the last of the beauty of the garden, and he has just killed it. She bites her lip, but does not speak. Her eyes close in unknown emotion, and then she feels something poking at her ear.

It is hard to breathe, and her mouth becomes dry, as his fingers grace the skin by her hairline, pushing her carnation locks behind her left ear. She feels him slowly slip the stem of the rose behind her ear, and she cracks open her eyes, looking at him.

A pinkish hue threads over those handsome cheekbones of his, and he looks away, his hands shoved in his pockets.

Her eyes close once more, and her lips upturn into a smile. She can't stop herself, and he does not move to stop her either as she takes a step towards him and plants her hand gently to his cheek, pressing her lips to his other one tenderly.

"Beautiful." Is all he says, before turning and heading towards the front door of the Uchiha compound. A giggle escapes her lips as she follows him.

_Time, _she reminds herself once more, _all he needed was time. _

She thinks for a second, and lets out another giggle, pressing her hand to her mouth to muffle it from his hearing.

_And perhaps a hot cup of tea._

"Happy Birthday, Sasuke-kun." She whispers, and she knows that he will hear that at least.

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><p><strong>AN: **_I AM TEARING UP RN I DID NOT KNOW I COULD WRITE SOMETHING SO BEAUTIFUL HOLY CRAP. ANYWAYS I ACTUALLY FINISHED THIS LAST NIGHT, BUT I WANTED TO WAIT TO PUBLISH IT UNTIL SASUKE'S BIRTHDAY._

_CHAPTER 686 OH MY GOD I AM CRYING. THE MOST INHUMAN SOUND CAME OUT OF MY MOUTH AND I CHOKED WHEN I SAW IT. KISHI- SASUSAKU FANS LOVE YOU RIGHT NOW, JUST SAYING. THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS HE COULD HAVE DRAWN THAT. SO MANY WAYS. _


	24. XXIV

**A/N: **_I JUST REALLY WANTED TO WRITE A WESTERN SASUSAKU OK. THIS ALSO CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM THE COLOR COVER FROM CHAPTER 686 READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION. _

_Also yay this is early! I'm two days ahead c: _

_And if you have ever seen the movie 'Knight and Day', with Cameron Diaz and Tom Cruise, this is where this scene is inspired from, when they're escaping the bad guys on the motorcycle in Spain. _

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><p><strong>XXIV. Glory<strong>

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><p>"Sasuke-kun! They've cornered Naruto and Kakashi-sensei!"<p>

He gritted his teeth.

It was bad enough that Sakura's black mare had already been stolen while they were inside the tavern, gathering information, but _now, _Christ, now they were being targeted by a band of rogue cowboys.

_Cowboys._

In the desert. Outside of _Suna. _

Some people really did watch too much American television.

_(Including their dear, drunken Hokage back in Konaha who wrestled Team 7 into their own cowboy garb for the mission.) _

Che, such idiots.

Though, he had to admit he did look pretty damn sexy in this western getup.

His hand moved across his thighs, and towards his gun holster, fingers gracing the cold metal. But, he did like idea of these weapons, he thought with a smirk, it saved him from using his katon every time someone tried to shit talk him. He pulled the gun out of it's holster, and and his stomach muscles tightened as he felt her arms grip him tighter. Her closeness was definitely not helping. Nor was the fact that he could see her creamy, exposed legs from the corner's of his vision, and he could almost _feel _the exposed mid drift of skin through her tied up shirt. He swallowed heavily.

In front of him was the leader of the gang, a stout fellow on a large, black mare. It looked awfully similar to Sakura's stolen one. The man pulled out his gun and aimed it at Sasuke. His eyes narrowed, and he shoved his body to the side as the bullet whizzed past them. Sakura let out a simple growl, and then a whimper as she rattled against Sasuke's body with every movement.

"That's my horse! That's _Glory!_" She screeched, temper flaring. Sasuke bit back a deep chuckle.

"_Glory?_" He spat, dodging another stray bullet, "That's a stupid fucking name, Sakura."

Her nails dug into his abs through his vest and shirt, and he hissed in a breath. Using her knee, she jabbed his thigh in front of her, promptly peering over his shoulder with a large frown.

"It's short for _Gloria._" She emphasized in retaliation, and a snort escaped his lips. She rolled her eyes and continued to peer over his shoulder. A spray of bullets once more flew past them, and Sakura let out a cry, which sounded like she was hit. Sasuke's eyes widened and he turned his head towards her.

"You alright?" He yelled over the roar of wind against them and the sounds of fast hooves hitting stone. Sakura nodded and tightened her arms around him.

"That bastard's bullet almost took out my eye."

He turned his head back around and made a few shots, aiming at the man. The bumping of the fast horse underneath him was making it hard to aim. He gritted his teeth, activated his Sharingan, and tried a few more times, seeing that he almost caught the horse's hind leg. Sakura let out a high pitched scream in his ear.

"Don't aim for Glory!" She clawed at his vest and he rolled his eyes.

Before he could take another shot, bullets flew past them from a different angle. From _behind. _Sasuke swore loudly, and turned his head around to see behind him. If his hands were free, he would have katoned them all to hell. The rest of the band, four more men on horses, were behind them, guns all aimed at Sasuke and Sakura. He acted fast, as he turned back around to watch where he was going.

"Sakura!" He yelled, and her arms tightened and then relaxed around his midsection.

"Yeah?" She sounded almost scared. She knew they were screwed, especially when Sasuke couldn't divert his attention from watching where he was going to swing around and take out the men coming from behind.

"How many guns do you have on you?" He aimed and shot once more at the leader in front of him, seeing it grace the man's cheek, drawing blood. Sakura looked down at her holsters shakily, and swallowed.

"Two.." She murmured. Sasuke nodded to himself.

"Good. Get them out."

She retracted her arms from around him (which he frowned at), and pulled the weapons out of her holsters, gripping them tightly in her hands. Her braced her wrists on his hips, holding on to him once more.

"Right. Now what?" She whispered. But he wasn't a damned good ninja (as well as a bad ass cowboy) for nothing. He lifted up his arm, gripped the saddle reigns tighter, and reached behind him. Within seconds, she was in his lap, in front of him in the saddle and facing him, her face very close to his, eyes wide. He swallowed.

"Now. Fire." He gritted out, trying to ignore how she was straddling his thighs, _and still bouncing_ with the horses' every movements_. _Dammit. She nodded, and threw her legs over his thighs, scooting closer to him. With both arms on his shoulder for support, she aimed at the men behind them and began to fire. She was a good shot, he thought to himself between his own firings, she had already taken out two, and a third was slowly going down. He smirked.

That's his girl.

By the time he had finally landed a shot to the gang leader's shoulder in front of him, all four men were down behind them, and Sakura was raising her arms up in the air in a victory screech.

"_Shannaro! _Now that's how you do it!" She said happily, and pulled her arms back from his shoulder, her eyes meeting his. She bit her lip, realizing how close they were, and blushed red. He lowered his head to meet her eyes, shooting her a lazy smirk.

"Haruno Sakura, you've got skill." He commented, and she blushed a deeper shade of red. He quickly shuffled her back to behind him before she could realize that there was a party going on in his pants. Her arms wrapped around him once more, and she buried her head into his back. Just as he was going to sigh out in relief, another man on a horse appeared next to them, and quickly headed in front of Sauske's white mare. Sasuke raised his gun, finger about to pull the trigger, when the man's head snapped to the side, blood flying out of the wound. He was down in seconds, and Sasuke led his horse around him.

"_YEEEEHAWWW!" _Naruto screamed as he kicked his brown horse, pulling to a trot beside Sasuke, grin on his cheshire features. Kakashi appeared on the other side of them with a sigh.

"Naruto, we're not really cowboys." Kakashi rubbed his temples, and replaced his gun in it's holster. Naruto swung his guns around his fingers, and holstered them with a sly smirk.

"Looks like you too had fun." He said, eyeing Sasuke and Sakura. Sakura blushed and pulled her arms out from around Sasuke's waist, and Sasuke snorted. Kakashi pulled himself from the saddle of his horse and headed over to where the gang leader was still collapsed over Sakura's very alive, and scared mare.

"Damn cowboys." He muttered. Naruto laughed loudly, and Sasuke pulled his horse to a stop, hopping out of the saddle. He gripped Sakura by the waist and gently lifted her off the house, letting her slide down his body (on purpose) as she reached the ground. She patted his arms, and he was about to pull her closer, when she yelped happily and yanked herself from his grip.

"Glory! You're okay! My poor baby!" She cooed, running over to where Kakashi was stood, holding the mare's reigns.

Sasuke's lip twitched.

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><p><strong>AN: **_I'M SORRY BUT COWBOY SASUKE IS THE SEXIEST FUCKING THING I EVER SAW. AND I LOVE KNIGHT AND DAY SORRY. BUT YEAH. SAKURA IS SASUKE'S WOMAN OK. OK. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN BB. LOVE U SASSY-CAKES._


	25. XXV

**A/N: **_None. Wow holy shit. Rated T+ For the mention of breasts. And boners. Lululull._

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><p><strong>XXV. The Other Side of the Wall<strong>

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><p>Summers in Konaha always meant more than tepid air, and a bright, sizzling ray of sun. She sighed happily as she pulled open the glass sliding door to her backyard, and closed it behind her. The sun was at it's peak in the sky, and she knew she would have quite a while to get a sun kissed complexion all over for Ino's beach resort party the next weekend. How perfect.<p>

She flipped open her wooden relaxer, and aimed it right in the heat of the grass and bushes, flinging her towel over the structure. Perching her sunglasses over her eyes, she tied her hair up on the top of her head, and let her neck roll, shoulder's moving in waves in a stretch.

"Nnnh when was the last time I really got to relax?" She asked herself in a murmur, and kicked off her flip flops.

_Never_, she thought lazily.

Her fingers gripped the hem of her shirt, hesitating, as she peered around her garden slowly. When she had saved up enough money from her job at the hospital, she quickly had put down the deposit on this cute, little townhome. All three sides of the garden were enclosed, hidden from the flourished city and outskirts around it. Both sides were closed in by tall, green bushes, and the side parallel to her house was hidden off by a tall, concrete wall.

Across it, she assumed from the infrastructure that peaked out over the top from her bedroom window, was a mansion. It was always silent, no one ever used the garden, and there were only lights on inside at night. Some old, rich bastard, she assumed. No one to peek.

She pulled her shirt over her head and adjusted the tie of her bikini top, before slipping out of her shorts. Grabbing her sunscreen, she quickly glistened her exposed skin with a layer, before lying down on her stomach on the relaxer and pulling her sunhat over her head. Her fingers slowly tugged at the tie of her top, pulling it open and then off of her shoulder blades. She rested her head in her arms and lulled into a trance.

She was still debating whether or not she wanted tan lines on her front.

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><p>"Heads up, teme!"<p>

Addressed man huffed and raised his hand, catching the football quickly as his blond best friend recovered from the toss, stretching his arms above his head in a grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes beneath his sunglasses and stayed in the shade, watching as Naruto ran out into the bright sunlight, and began prancing around the large garden.

"Sasuke! Come enjoy the sun with me! You might actually get a tan!" Naruto yelled and collapsed into the grass with a happy sigh.

"No." Sasuke snorted, and reclined back in his seat, kicking his legs up on the outdoor ottoman. Naruto made a large whimper, and sat up.

"Well at least throw the football back! I was having fun with that!" He called, and was promptly hit in the stomach by said ball, wind leaving his lungs with a hushed breath. Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes, stretching.

"Dobe."

"A-Ah", Naruto gasped for breath and stood up shakily, "at least come out here and play with me!" Sasuke's lip twitched. He sighed heavily and hoisted himself up out of his seat, shooting Naruto a deep scowl through his shades. Naruto grinned and chucked the football back at him. Sasuke caught it and continued walking out into the sunlight. Instantly, he wanted to go back inside. It was too bright and too hot.

"This is stupid." He muttered grumpily, and Naruto grinned wider.

"Oh come on, teme! You look like a vampire! You're gonna scare away all the girls!" Sasuke rolled his eyes once more.

"I don't care." He spat, and yanked his arm back. He gave into his temptations and chucked the ball expertly over Naruto's head and to the far back of the garden. Naruto yelped and went running, arms outstretched to catch it. He jumped up, and his fingers brushed it, as the ball flew out of his grip and over the concrete wall of Sasuke's yard. Naruto collapsed on the ground, frowning.

"Dammit, teme, that was our high school championship one!" He screeched, and stood up, brushing off his jeans. Sasuke folded his arms and looked away in a huff.

They basked in the five minute silence of Sasuke's lip twitching into a smirk, and Naruto's mouth gaping open, still in shock. Slowly, the blond closed his mouth, and barred his lips into a childish pout. He pointed past him to the wall, and eyed Sasuke.

"_Go get it." _He whispered harshly, and Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He pulled his glasses up to the top of his head, and glared back at his friend.

"No." He said blankly. Naruto reemphasized his pointing and stormed over to Sasuke, gripping the front of his shirt.

"You threw it, you retrieve it!" He said, and Sasuke pushed the blond off of him with a scowl. He stormed past Naruto, who was grinning in victory, and shoved his hands in his pockets. His eyes fell on the white alabaster of the wall with a sigh. He knew that over it was a small townhouse, and he knew by the loud noises of moving trucks a few months back, that there was someone currently living in it. From the silhouette in the rooms, he could make out a female presence.

He pulled his hands out of his pockets and gripped the top of the tall wall, hoisting his lower half up to the top of it. Expecting that no one was out in the garden, he planned to quickly grab it from the bushes and get back over the wall. However, when he crouched on the top of the wall, eyes falling on the townhouse's garden, he froze, and his mouth was dry.

In his graduate school for business management (and in his last year), he only got an eyeful of very skinny, bleached blond women throwing themselves over him. He ignored them, there was nothing sexy about bad tan lines, bleached highlights or ribs showing. But the woman in front of him was..._beautiful. _A sight that could make any man blind.

She was lounged out on her back on a wooden relaxer, long pink hair out of her bun and splayed around her face. Her skin was creamy, only lightly tanned, no hint of orange from spraying in the salons. Her legs were long, firm, flawless; hips wide, waist slim, but not treacherously so. No bones showing. His eyes stopped at where her ribs would be and he swallowed heavily, a blush coming to his features.

One thin arm up and thrown over her forehead, other lying across her stomach. Perfect view point for her chest. She was topless, string bikini thrown lazily on the ground next to her, creamy mounds exposed for anyone to see. He licked his lips involuntarily, eyes falling on her perky nipples. His pants tightened, and he gripped the concrete of the wall, wanting to jump back down to his side and forget about Naruto's football.

"_Shit_." He whispered in complete bliss, eyes traveling up to her face. Rouged lips were parted and plump in pleasure, cheekbones hinted with pink from the heat. Her large sunglasses covered her eyes, which made him frown. He wanted to know what her eyes looked like. Wanted to know if they were as beautiful as she was. He swallowed once more, and was about to jump back down to his side, when her free arm went to her sunglasses, pulling them down her nose lazily.

A pair of emerald orbs caught his in a dazzling tease, and heat pooled into his stomach. Her lips rose in a sly smirk.

"Like what you see there?" She called out in a honeyed silk voice, and he wanted to fall off the wall and knock himself unconscious. Regaining his cool, he frowned and hoisted his legs over to her side, hands on either side of him. He wriggled his lower half to release some of the tension in his jeans.

"Hn."

She laughed and slowly sat up, breasts bouncing slightly. He swallowed once more, and she leaned over to reach for her shirt. She pulled it over her head and chest, and he fought the urge to growl at the lost sight. She tugged at her small bikini bottoms before walking over to the wall, fingers playing with her hair, pushing it over her sweaty shoulder.

"What do you need?" She questioned coolly, and he scowled, pointing to the bush next to her, where there was a football shaped hole.

"Football went over the wall." He said quickly, trying not to make his voice sound too strained. He wriggled once more, easing the uncomfortableness of his jeans. She giggled and turned her back to him, walking over to the bush. His eyes caught the movement of her ass and hips, and he grunted lightly. She bent down and quickly reached for the ball. She tossed it to him and pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes.

"Anything else?" She replied smoothly and he averted his eyes from her face, coming to rest on her empty lawn chair.

"No." He said coldly, perhaps a little colder than he planned, but it was too late now. She shrugged, and smiled, walking back over to her chair.

"Name's Sakura, by the way." She called over her shoulder, and laid herself back down on her back, kicking one leg over the other. He waited, wanting to see if she would resume her.. tanning session, but she didn't. He gripped the ball in his hand and hoisted himself back over the wall and to the ground with a thud. He tugged at the leg of his jeans, and headed back into his house, seeing Naruto on his couch through the window.

He shoved the ball into the blond's arms and collapsed onto the couch next to him, closing his eyes.

"Idiot." He cursed, and Naruto laughed, taking a swing of the soda he had swiped from Sasuke's refrigerator.

"So who lives over the wall, teme?" He cradled the ball in his arm like a newborn and downed the rest of his soda. Sasuke looked at his best friend in disgust and yanked his sunglasses off of his head. He put them down on the coffee table, and put his legs up on the surface next to them.

"No one." He said coolly, not eager to share the sight he was graced with with anyone.

* * *

><p>Sakura blushed and tugged at the hem of her shirt, biting her lip. How was she so smooth back there? Her insides had turned to complete jelly at the handsome man her age that lived on the other side! And he saw her topless! She blushed harder and quickly gathered up her things, deciding that that was enough sunbathing for one day. She headed in and took a shower.<p>

When she stepped out, there was a faint knock on her front door. She frowned, and headed to the entrance, seeing no one outside. She opened the door and peered outside, finding no one around, and then her eyes caught sight of the paper on the welcome mat. She frowned and bent down to pick up the note, turning it over, finding it blank. She shut her door and opened the paper, her eyes widening.

She read the note over and over before setting it down with shaking fingers on the counter and turned to anything to keep her mind off of it.

_Come to the other side of the wall. _

_Tomorrow night at 8. Wear something nice._

_-Sasuke_

She licked her lips and tried his name out, rolling her tongue around the syllables. She nodded in agreement.

Might as well see what it was like on the other side.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_And the next day, Sasuke found out that Sakura was not only a pretty face with a hot body, but also the most amazing woman in the world. The end. LOL. Hope you enjoyed!_


	26. XXVI

**A/N: **_Wow, SasuSaku month is almost over I am free of my burdens loljk. Hopefully the Manga ends well tho. _

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><p><strong>XXVI. Staying Warm<strong>

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><p>"This mission is stupid." Sakura whimpered into her scarf, and there was a collective grunt in agreement from her male teammates.<p>

Her cold fingers quickly raised up to her red scarf, tying it tighter around her small neck with a huff. It was the middle of winter in the Land of the Snow, and Team 7 was expected to do nothing but watch over a farm.

_Watch over. _

_In the middle of a snow storm._

She rubbed her hands together through her finger-less gloves and let her body wrack forward in a long shiver. She was wearing as many layers and winter clothes as her other teammates, if not more, but it was obvious that she had cold blood to begin with; no matter how many cups of hot tea that she devoured. Surely, the band of gangsters targeting the owner of the farm wouldn't think about attacking this far into winter. Even if the farmer owed them money. Sakura huffed and pulled her beanie down over her large forehead.

"Please _don't _tell me that we have to sleep out here tonight." She begged, and she heard Kakashi rumble with laughter beside her. A sloppy, amused grin formed under the cloth of his mask.

"Of course not!" He said happily. "We'll be sleeping in the barn."

Sakura wanted to punch something. And sadly, for Naruto, well he was the closest object.

_"Sakura-chan!"_

* * *

><p><em>This, <em>thought Sakura grumpily, this barn was even worse than the thought of outside. It was old, raggedy, barely holding together, and the cold air circulated around it. At first, she had made Sasuke (who was already in a bad mood from the cold weather), start a small fire in the middle of a pile of hay to keep them warm, but when the harsh wind blew it out in miliseconds, Sakura remained silent, wrapping herself in her sleeping bag.

"They could of at least let us sleep inside their nice, _warm, _cozy house." She debated, and Kakashi stretched from his lounging position on a pile of hay.

"Now Sakura", he started in a scholarly tone, "a ninja must be able to handle every type of weather pattern, and should not complai-"

"Oh shut up." She said miserably, and buried her head down into her sleeping bag. She heard Sasuke's grunt of a chuckle from next to her and was tempted to throw something at him. Crush or not, he had no right to make fun of her for being cold. She pouted and closed her eyes. From across the circle, she could hear Naruto shuffling around in his sleeping bag, and letting out small grunts, as he attempted to get comfortable.

"Sakura-chan, you could always cudd-" He started happily, outstretching his arms to her.

"No." She cut him off quickly, and wrapped her arms around herself. No way in hell would she _snuggle _with Naruto. That would be embarrassing at least. However, her mind continued, she wouldn't turn down a snuggle session with Sasuke-

She blushed red and shook her head to clear her thoughts. That would never happen.

Soon enough Kakashi blew out the lantern that lit up the group and happily bid them a good sleep. Sakura muttered a string of curse words, and Sasuke grunted in addition, before they all settled down to attempt to sleep. Sakura wriggled around on her mat and peeked her head over the top of the cover, eyeing her teammates in the darkness.

_Might as well try to get some sleep then, _she thought sadly, and closed her eyes, pulling her legs up to her chest to conserve heat.

She was able to get a few hours of rest, when her body randomly woke her, and she felt cold once more. She shivered, and stretched out her shaking legs, huffing a few cold breaths out.

"Dammit." She mumbled, and poked her head out of her sleeping bag to look around her once more.

Kakashi was snuggled under a blanket, still on the hay pile, looking very warm and very asleep. Naruto was stretched out on his mat, arms and legs exposed to the cold air, but he looked as warm as could be also. Sakura quickly snuck a look towards Sasuke and let out a giggle. He was snuggled down in his sleeping bag, his dark hair peeking out of the top of the blanket.

_So cute, _she held her hand to her lips to muffle her giggle and closed her eyes once more. She reopened them and shivered, now deciding what to do about her situation. She looked at Kakashi and bit her lip.

He looked so warm, and the hay stack he was lying on looked way more comfortable than the cold ground Sakura was on. But he was her sensei, that would be very weird if she just snuggled herself up to him without him knowing. And he would probably treat her like a child. She pouted. Which she wasn't. She sighed and turned her attention to Sasuke.

_Nope_, she thought quickly and turned to Naruto, watching his mouth open in a large snore. She winced and sighed heavily. It was her only choice. If she wanted to keep herself warm until morning, she would just have to suck it up and sleep next to Naruto. He was very hot blooded, so she was sure he would let off enough heat to keep her warm, even if she wasn't touching him (which she didn't plan on doing). She gave in.

Slowly, Sakura pulled herself up in her sleeping bag, fixing her clothes. She tied her scarf around her and rolled up her sleeping mat, before standing. Naruto would never let her live this down, she thought sadly. Unless she could sneak away from him before anyone woke.

In slow steps, she snuck over towards Naruto, leaning down to look at his sleeping face with a wince.

_It's now or never, _she swallowed, and reached out her hand to lift up the edge of the blanket and sneak in next to him. Her fingers blushed the soft material, when Sasuke's deep, still waking up, voice cut through the air.

"What are you doing, Sakura?" He whispered blankly, and she jumped up, blushing red. She bit her lip to keep herself from letting out a small squeal in surprise.

"Nothing!" She whispered back quickly, wrapping her arms around herself. She turned towards her teammate, and blushed harder. Sasuke was leaning on his elbows, rubbing his eyes as he let out a yawn. Kami, he looked so warm and _snuggleable._ She swallowed and offered him a small smile. Looks like she'd have to go back to her own sleeping mat and stay cold-_  
><em>

"He just looks so warm!" She said out of nowhere, and held her hand to her mouth, cursing herself. Sasuke didn't care if she was cold. She heard him sigh, and he sat up, pulling his long sleeved shirt down. She shivered once more and gripped her elbows, fingers clenching and unclenching. Then she heard Sasuke's sleeping bag unzip, and she jumped, looking towards him in the darkness.

"Come here." He ordered, and she saw that he was holding open the side of the bag. Her mouth gaped open.

"You won't be able to function on the mission tomorrow if you're cold." He finished quickly to provide reason for his actions. Sakura continued to gape at him, jaw unhinged.

"N-nani?" She asked, and he scowled, gripping the bridge of his nose.

"Just do it, the cold air is getting in." He said in an annoyed tone, so without a second thought, she slipped over to him and kicked off her boots. She snuck into the warmth of his sleeping bag, and his arm went around her to zip up the side. She blushed and turned on her side to face him, biting her lip.

"Sasuke-kun-" She started, but he shushed her, arm carelessly going around her shoulders. He hissed at the cold material of her coat, and glared at her.

"Take it off." He said, and she quickly unzipped the material, chucking it out of the bag. Sasuke's arm settled around her shoulder once more, and she wriggled herself a bit closer to his body, already beginning to feel warm. She let out a sigh in happiness, and closed her eyes.

"Thanks, Sasuke-kun." She murmured, a smile on her lips.

"Annoying." He sighed, and she felt the arm around her squeeze her shoulder. She was asleep in minutes.

* * *

><p>Watching your two thirteen year old teammates cuddle, Kakashi thought, was the most adorable thing he had ever seen. Naruto was still very asleep and snoring loudly, but Kakashi snuck over to Sasuke's sleeping bag with a michevious smile. Short pink hair mingled with dark locks, and Kakashi took in the sight before him. Sasuke was on his side, arm wrapped possessively around Sakura, head buried in her neck. Sakura had both of her palms on his chest, her own face against his shoulder.<p>

Kakashi was about to tear up, but then Naruto's loud yawn cut through the air. His eyes widened. Not good.

Sasuke and Sakura only had minutes before-

Naruto screamed.

"_WHY IS TEME SNUGGLING SAKURA-CHAN?"_

Sasuke's eyes snapped open, and Sakura was already blushing and pulling away from Sasuke with a string of excuses and embarrassed ramblings.

Naruto was already on his feet, standing up to face the two, raising his fist at Sasuke, jealously. Sasuke sat up, retracting his arm from around Sakura and scowled. Sakura gripped her hair, and shivered at the loss of warmth that Sasuke had been omitting in his sleep.

"I was just trying to stay warm!" She screeched, and Kakashi chuckled.

If only he had a camera on him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_This was just too frickin cute, I wish it happened in the manga owo. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!_


	27. XXVII

**A/N: **_To get into the mood of this one shot/drabble, please listen to Hero by Regina Spektor. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XXVII. Misguided<strong>

* * *

><p><em>He is only misguided<em>, she tells herself more than she should.

It becomes her mantra for everything. She finds her lips opening, parting; ready to say it every time his name is used, every time his clan is painted to be evil, every time he is spoken bad of. _They're all monsters_, she hears people whisper, mutter under their breaths. She can't do anything, she is not of his clan, she cannot prove them wrong. They have heard of his murders, his blood shed, his _darkness. _

"He is only misguided." She murmurs to them, a fake smile plastered on her soft features.

It's enough to make them stop talking, at least until she is out of earshot. If they continue after she leaves, she does not pay mind to it, and instead feigns ignorance for bliss. She does not stop herself from letting tears slip down her cheeks as she rushes past her parents' worried looks from the kitchen and flees to her room. She does not stop herself from collapsing onto her floor, clinging to the picture of Team 7, the picture of _them_. If her sobs echo through the house, her parents do not hear it, and if they do, they cannot find the heart to comfort their daughter.

Because they too, have heard of the darkness that _he _lets himself be consumed by. And they know that she clings to the memory of him as if her life depends on it.

When he leaves the village that night, she knows instantly. The moon is high and crescent in the sky, and the outside is too quiet. She knows, _she understands_, he has been misguided, straying from the path. She cannot help him, she knows, but she has to try. Because if she doesn't, all she will have left is the ghost of him.

Her tears stream down her face in a flurry of sobs, and her heart betrays her. She lets him know everything, tells him anything and everything, pulling off her skin to leave herself naked and vulnerable. Because she loves him. She loves him and cannot let him go.

When she wakes up later on the cold bench, another sob wracks through her already weak body and she doesn't stop it.

They are on the edge of sixteen, teenagers, when she finally sees him again, and she agrees with herself that he is still misguided. His name slips through her lips as simply as air and as silkily as honey, but he does not acknowledge it.

_This is not Sasuke_, she tells herself over and over.

This is not her stubborn, quiet, angst driven teammate. That Uchiha Sasuke is no more.

The first time that he attempts to kill her, she repeats her mantra under her breath and in her mind. She refuses to let herself believe that this is truly _him_ and that he is in the right mindset to do this.

_Was our previous teammate dynamic nothing to you? _She wants to scream, tear at him, rip him apart. Her body goes numb the second time he grips her and is prepared to end her life, and she does not know what to believe anymore. Her strength and mind goes to her training and time at the hospital, but her heart does not exist. He took it with her when he left.

She goes to a bar one night with Ino, and they are in older forms, courtesy of jutsus. Sakura is on her third drink when the man beside her at the counter begins to speak of the Uchiha clan. She grips her glass tightly, and tries with all of her being not to listen to the sound of the man's voice, tries not to retain every word that comes from his lips, but her mind greedily pulls in the words and forces her to digest them.

_"They're just a bunch of crazy fucking homicidal maniacs. Traitorous scum the lot of them. They just go around killing their own fucking kids, siblings and parents, thinking that power is the only important thing in the whole goddamn-"_

Something in her finally snaps. Gives way. She flies at him and topples him over and onto the floor with all of her monstrous strength. She is crying and the tears hit the man's face and eyes. Her fists are on his face, his neck, his chest, anywhere she can aim for.

_"DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF THEM THAT WAY, DON'T YOU DARE SPEAK OF SASUKE LIKE THAT!" _She screams, and continues to pound the man, ignoring the blood spilling out of his nose, and cuts. He spits blood on her in a caught breath, and she sobs, continuing to yell rambled words and phrases at him, because to her, they sound correct. _Right_. Hands pull her elbows, but she continues to punch and kick the man, before Ino can fully pull her away from the bar and out the door in quick apologies. She continues to sob, continues to scream her words.

"_HE'S JUST MISGUIDED! MISGUIDED!" _She screeches with the last of her strength and collapses against Ino, sobs and coughs wracking through her body, leaving her heaving and gasping for breath between tears. Ino, much like her parents, does not know how to comfort her.

If she appears happy and not conflicted, it is all an act. They are in the middle of a war, and should not be focused on her, so she keeps to herself, keeps her mind from flying back to him. But when he joins them on the battlefield, just the mere sight of him sends her lips raising in a smile, because Sasuke is back. They are together again. And perhaps he is not that much of a monster anymore.

_But he's still misguided_, her mind tells her. So she is wary to trust him.

She is exhausted from overuse of her chakra, and Obito sees this. Blood seeps down under his eyes, and she releases her tight grip on his shoulders, beginning to fall back. When Sasuke catches her, her heart jumps in her chest, flutters like a newly born butterfly and she fights back tears. His eyes are on hers, Sharingan boring into her wide emerald orbs, and she cannot find it within herself to speak.

_What are we to you.. Sasuke-kun?_ She wants to ask him, but they are both silent, and she enjoys it this way over speaking. It is quite some time after she controls her breathing and Obito stops talking that Sasuke's hand moves on her burnt arm, and she winces.

"Sakura." He says in a curt tone, and she looks up at him through half lidded eyes. She does not answer him, and he does not need her to either way.

"Thank you."

Trusting of him or no, her lips upturn into a shaky, but happy smile, and for once, she feels as if perhaps a part of him is back. Back with her. But as soon as it comes, it is gone, and they are by Naruto's side and fighting once more.

Months after the war, she sits herself down on the bench that he left her on years before, trying not to listen to the passing crowds and their words. Her molars dig into her lip, drawing blood, and her hands clench and unclench.

_He's back? That's shocking, hasn't he done enough?_

_I can't believe they actually let him back! After all he's done, all of his threats to burn this place down!_

_He's just another Uchiha._

She fights the urge to fly at them, like the night at the bar. They are innocent, she thinks, and it is not wise to get into a violent situation in broad daylight. But that doesn't stop tears from welling up in her eyes and eventually spilling over.

When they call her in for interrogation in front of the council days later, she feels his eyes on her back as he sits in the corner. She looks back and forth between the elders, and bites her lip. She isn't ready for this. They want to know what she, as his teammate, as his counterpart for so many years, thinks of what he has done, and what should be formally done about him now that his probation is over. Her mantra is the only thing that comes to mind.

"He was misguided." She whispers, and looks down at her feet. She repeats it once, twice, thrice more, before looking up, meeting the eyes of her teacher, the Hokage, and the elders. Tears slip down her cheeks, and she repeats it a few more times, hands clenching. Her voice, this time, is loud. Confident.

"He was misguided. He followed a path that he thought would lead him to wronging the right and making sense of himself. In the process, he lost. Before he strayed from the path, he also lost. His whole life, he has loved and lost. He chose not to love, because he knew all it would lead to was losing. He followed his path and discovered more than he could ever hope for. It took him a while, but he has finally come to terms. He is not in the darkness anymore. He was only misguided. It happens. It could have happened to any of us, given the right situation and amount of lies. It happened to him, but that is the past. His future is here. In his home, under the Uchiha clan symbol. He should be granted citizenship back to Konaha."

With that, she turns on her heel and leaves the council room in the silence. She heads back to the bench, because that is the only place that she can keep her thoughts together.

_They granted him citizenship, the Hokage must actually think he's innocent!_

_I heard the council decided based on Haruno Sakura's testimony._

_She must really love him._

Her head is buried in her hands, and she tries not to hear the whispers around her. She sits there until sunset, when all of the passerby's have gone in for the night, and there is only silence as she sits on the bench. She does not hear his feather-like footsteps, and it isn't until she looks up and see's him stood right in front of her that she makes a noise. A gasp escapes her lips, but nothing more. She does not say his name much anymore.

He sits next to her in silence, and she continues to look down at her legs, her hands folded now in her lap. She wants to say multiple things at once, to ask him how it went, to ask him what he is doing here, to tell him everything that he missed out on, but instead her mind strays, and she grows angry. Her hands clench in her lap.

"I defended you. All these years." She spits in a harsh whisper, and out of the corner of her eye, she sees his back stiffen.

"They tainted your name, threw it to the ground, _stomped on it_, but I told myself that I had to keep picking it up, keep cleaning it off, had to keep saving the Uchiha name, because someday, perhaps _someday_ you would be back." She continues, and tears slip down her cheeks once more. Even a thank you right now, she thinks, will not be enough to fix what has been broken.

"Why?" His voice is clear cut and hits her like a boulder. She chokes.

"_I don't know._"

She straightens her back and exhales a ragged breath. Her eyes close, but she feels his gaze on her face. She shakes her head.

"I don't know. Because I kept telling myself that you were only misguided, and-"

She isn't given time to finish her thought, because his arms go around her, large hand cupping the back of her head to bring it to his shoulder. His other hand settles between her shoulder blades, and in an instant, she is against his hard chest. She sobs now, lets everything out that she has been holding in, finally feeling the weight leave her body and shoulders. Her fingers cling to the material of his shirt.

"I'm back. I'm _home_." He whispers gently against her hair, and she shivers.

"Yeah." She responds weakly.

And it's enough for now.


	28. XXVIII

**A/N: **_I NEED TO SEE CHAPTER 687 LIKE NOW THIS IS TOO MUCH SUSPENSE FOR MY DEAR SHIPPER HEART. _

_Also, this piece was inspired by 'A Temporary Matter' by Jhumpa Lahiri. It's a sweet little piece about a couple learning more about themselves when the power goes out, even though the ending is kinda sad... BUT c: Enjoy!_

* * *

><p><strong>XXVIII. When The Power Fails<strong>

* * *

><p>They were enjoying a quiet meal in the kitchen, when the lights flickered, and then there was darkness coupled with silence. Her pupils dilated in the dark, and she heard him sigh heavily. Her eyes adjusted in the oblivion of black, and she saw him shift from his kneeling position to stand up. Her hand shot up and she put her fingers on his arm, halting him. His eyes caught hers, and she smiled in the darkness.<p>

"I'll get the candles."

She stood up and maneuvered herself from the table and towards the counters, hands fumbling for the drawer handle. She yanked it open, and her other hand graced over the objects, mind getting a feel for what was in the drawer. She quickly grabbed the box of matches and a few long candles, slamming the drawer shut with her hip. He was silent as she moved to the table and put the candles down in the candelabra in the center, fingers pulling out a matchstick to strike it to the box.

With a hiss, and a spark, she lit all four candles, and smiled as she saw her boyfriends face illuminate behind them. She giggled and set the matches down with a satisfied sigh.

"There." She murmured, and picked up her chopsticks once more to continue eating. Sasuke was silent as he followed her lead, chewing on a spiral of noodles. Between bites she let her mind wander about the cause of the power failure, brow furrowing.

"They didn't say anything about having a scheduled cut tonight." She pondered, and Sasuke grunted.

"Hn." Sakura shrugged.

"Must have been unexpected." She finished her bowl, and waited as Sasuke followed suit. She stood up with a smile and collected their bowls in her hands, heading to the sink.

They had been dating for just over three years now, and Sasuke was his old self, to a degree. Sakura bit her lip. After the war, his version of courting her as a girlfriend meant periodic, quiet dinner dates and the occasional after training drink, but nothing more. She was happy, of course, this was the man she loved with all her heart, and when he proposed that she move in with him to his apartment until the Uchiha compound was done being restructured, she happily obliged.

He had never spoken of marriage, and she bit her lip at the thought. She assumed that this was serious, and that he planned to marry her one day, but he was so silent that she couldn't predict anything. When in each others' presences and alone, they were very intimate, and she watched as he grew and opened up to her over the years. But sadly, as the cold man he was, there was still so much that she didn't know about him.

She hummed a tune under her breath to get her mind off of the thought of it, and when she finished her tune, they basked in the silence. Sasuke helped her dry the dishes and clean up, and then he grabbed the candelabra, headed for the living room. She quickly grabbed a few more candles and the matchsticks before following his trail of light. He set the candles on the coffee table and collapsed on the couch, Sakura following suit.

She pulled her legs up under her and perched herself next to him. Automatically, his arm went around her, and he let out a sigh.

"Might as well wait and see if it comes back on." He murmured, and she leaned her head into his shoulder with a nod.

His hand slowly stroked the skin of her exposed arm, and she began humming once more, eyes closing in happiness. She tried not to think about the fact that they had been dating a solid amount of time now for him to pop the question.

"Sasuke-kun?" She whispered, and his fingers tightened on her arm.

"Hn?"

She took a deep breath. There were so many things she wanted to ask him, wanted to say. The dim lighted room and his arm around her was making her thoughts swirl a mile a minute. She wanted this kind of intimacy, wanted to stay up late in the darkness with him and confess everything she had ever done and thought. Before she could decide on a statement to say, one flew out of her lips.

"I had my first kiss with Kiba."

His breath hitched, and his hand loosened on her arm. She could see his lips opening and closing into a grim line in the corner of her vision, and she put a hand over her mouth, looking away guiltily.

"I-" He started, but couldn't continue. He didn't see the relevancy of her confession, but nevertheless, it made him jealous. He frowned. Sakura looked down and put her hands in her lap.

"Sorry." She whispered and bit her lip. "There's something about the darkness that just wants me to admit everything to you."

He was silent, but his hand slowly slipped up her arm to her shoulder and then he cupped her neck, bringing her head to his. His lips encased hers in a heated kiss, before he pulled away to rest his forehead on hers, breath fanning over her face. He stared at her closed eyes and sighed lightly.

"You were my first kiss." He offered back in an embarrassed tone, and her eyes opened, and then widened. A blush threaded over his cheeks, and he looked away in a huff of breath, hand still cupping the back of her head. She let out a small giggle and smiled at him. She leaned her head into his shoulder, and his arms went around her. They were silent for another few minutes, before she spoke once more.

"When I was five, I broke one of my mother's antique plates and I got caught trying to glue back together."

His deep chuckle cut through the silence, and she blushed, looking down. He stroked her back and a small tut left his lips.

"My brother caught me trying on one of his ANBU shirts once." He admitted with a shrug. She gasped, but a small smile came to her lips at the picture. He never liked to talk about Itachi, with her or anyone, and it was shocking that such a statement would leave his lips. She bit back a giggle, trying to picture kid Sasuke prancing around in a larger ANBU vest.

"How cute." She murmured, and his lips fell on her forehead in a grunt.

* * *

><p>"My favorite color isn't actually pink, but green."<p>

The next time she confessed, they were on the floor in the living room. Sakura had gotten restless on the couch, and pulled Sasuke to sit cross legged in front of her on the floor, with their knees touching. He had looked at her curiously, but was silent, as she sat down across from him and put her fingers on his knees. Slowly, his hands had slipped out to cup her chin and run down her neck and over any part of exposed skin that he saw.

"My favorite color is navy blue." She laughed.

"I could guess that." She teased, and he rolled his eyes in a scowl, hands running up and down her thighs. She shivered and gently cupped his elbows, still in thought.

"I actually don't like tea all that much. It's not a daily drink that I could indulge in." She laughed awkwardly, and then her eyes widened. "But don't tell my parents!" She said quickly, and he chuckled.

He leaned forward so that his nose was touching hers, and she settled her hands on the crooks of his elbows, closing her eyes. His hands ran down her sides, and then back up. He cupped her cheeks, and brought her lips to his once more. She sighed happily.

"Sweets aren't that bad." He muttered against her lips, and she grinned, pulling away to look him in the eye.

"So ..does that mean I can make you some of my strawberry cheesecake?" She asked happily, watching as he scowled.

"No." He said promptly, and brought her lips back to his. She giggled once more, and stroked the skin of his arms. She took in every fact and statement about himself that he revealed hungrily, wanting more, wanting to know _everything _about him.

"I grew my hair out when we were little because Ino told me that you liked girls with long hair." She whispered as she pulled away from his lips once more. He let out a breath and tilted his head, fitting his mouth against the hollow of her throat. She breathed out and cupped his head, running her hands through his hair. He responded with a small groan.

"I did." He clarified, but then his hands moved up to play with her shoulder length locks. "But any length on you is perfect." She blushed, as his lips trailed down to her shoulder and then back up to her jaw. Her lips parted in a breath, as she waited for his next secret.

"I always run three laps before training." She bit back a laugh.

"No wonder you're so fit." She murmured, and her hands pressed into the hard muscles of his abs through his shirt in emphasis. He grunted, and pressed himself closer to her, arms winding around her waist. Before she knew it, he had her in his lap, and her legs went around him, ankles crossed at his tailbone. His lips went back to her neck, and she let her head lull back, giving him more room.

"I'm a sucker for sappy romance movies." She admitted, letting out a moan as he nipped at the skin of her collarbone, trailing his nose back up her neck. He huffed out an amused breath.

"I'd sit through a few with you." She smiled happily.

His hands gripped her hips, pulling her flush against him as her fingers continued their trek over his muscles and then up to his hair. She kneaded his scalp lovingly, and he growled into her shoulder, nipping and licking the skin. Her legs tightened around him.

"I've always had a thing for doggy style." She whispered hotly, and he muffled a growl. He stood up, holding her against him, and she reached out for the candles. He balanced her around him and moved them towards their bedroom, setting her lightly on the bed. He put the candles on the night table and covered her with his weight, lips finding hers once more.

"I like you best when I can see all of your creamy skin." He whispered against her lips, hands gripping the hem of her shirt.

She was already on cloud nine.

* * *

><p>"I stole one of Tsunade's bottles of sake when I was sixteen, and had my first hangover soon after."<p>

They were on their second batch of candles now, and the power still hadn't come back on. They weren't complaining. Sakura was lying on her stomach, arms around her pillow. Sasuke hovered over her, fingers gracing her backbones, lips covering the expanse of her back with light kisses. She closed her eyes after she spoke, and pressed her back against his lips happily. He chuckled.

"Suigetsu dared me to smoke a cigarette when I was seventeen." He said into her skin and she shivered.

"And?" She murmured. He grunted.

"It was gross." He finished, and she laughed lazily.

"No matter how much I want to pull Ino's hair sometimes, she's still my best friend." She yawned loudly, and his fingers stroked her hair, pulling it away from her neck which was still damp with sweat from their lovemaking. He twirled a strand around his fingers, before continuing to run his lips up and down her back. His hands snuck under the sheets rumpled at her waist and explored the skin of her thighs.

"I suppose the dobe is my best friend." He sighed heavily, and she laughed loudly.

"Damn right." She yawned once more, before licking her lips.

"For a time, I thought I loved Naruto." His lips halted at the small of her back, and he exhaled. His hands moved up and down her legs and over her ass.

"Elaborate." He said curtly, and she smiled. She always liked it when his jealous side cut in. She shrugged.

"There was a time when I thought we would never be able to bring you back home, and I was loosing faith. Naruto was a shoulder to cry on, and he was very sweet. I thought maybe I'd have to move on."

Suddenly, she was being rolled over onto her back, Sasuke's body covering hers. He gripped her thighs, pulling them up around his hips. His lips attacked hers hotly, growls omitting from his throat.

"I came back to claim what was mine." He said against her lips and she moaned, gripping the back of his head, pulling him closer.

* * *

><p>It was nearing midnight, and they had made their way back downstairs to stock up on candles and grab a late night snack. Sakura lit a new batch of candles, watching as Sasuke chopped up a tomato, a piece already snuck between his lips. She laughed and reached across him to the counter to grab an apple. She tugged at his dark shirt that she had lazily thrown on and seated herself in his lap as he sat down at the table. He slung an arm around her and continued to eat his tomato.<p>

Her hand drew circles on his naked chest, and she leaned her head to his shoulder, taking a bit of her apple.

"I still can't believe that I am the infamous Uchiha Sasuke's girlfriend." He chuckled, and took another bite of his tomato. She grinned and chewed her apple thoughtfully, waiting for him to respond. She never knew what would come out of his mouth next.

"I like it when you cook for me." She smiled, and then smacked his chest.

"Just don't get it in your head that I'm the housewife type." She scolded, and then bit her lip. _Crap. _She had just mentioned something marriage centered, which she did not want to do. He eyed her curiously, eyebrow raised, lips upturned in a smirk between bits of his red fruit. She rolled her eyes and quickly took another bite of her apple to stir the conversation away.

"I've only failed one test in my life. I got a 57 on it and it was in our Biology seminar." Sasuke snorted suddenly, and they bask in the irony of medic ninja, Haruno Sakura failing such a test. They finish their snacks, and Sasuke moves her so she is straddling his thighs, chest pressed against his.

"My ninja gear for the Chunin exams was actually a one piece, and I had to step into it from the side." Sakura laughed, pressing her hand to her mouth. Sasuke scowled and rolled his eyes.

"Che." Sakura shook her head in apology for her laughter, and tried to control it, her other hand going to her stomach. Slowly but surely, she calmed herself and panted, opening and closing her mouth.

"A-Ah sorry, Sasuke-kun.. but that right there just cleared up _so _many theories." Sasuke rolled his eyes once more, and wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Annoying." He muttered, and she smiled, laying her head to his shoulder, closing her eyes.

It took her five minutes of silence to formulate her next confession, and when she said it, it was with a soft, gentle tone; and it strayed the subject from a humorous to a serious matter. She swallowed heavily.

"I really want to be a mother someday." She whispered, and Sasuke stiffened against her.

"How many?" He whispered back, and she bit her lip, shrugging.

"Three?" She offered. Sasuke's lips twitched up into a smirk, and he stroked the skin of her hips under her (_well,_ _really his_) shirt.

"Good." He murmured, and she blushed, looking up at him. Feeling a bit awkward in the situation, she mumbled a string of excuses for getting up and writhed from his embrace, collecting his plate and her apple core from the table. She ignored his grunts in protest, and continue to ramble on about various topics, cleaning up his plate in the sink and throwing away her trash.

"...I mean it sounds like a good amount of kids, its enough to love, and enough to keep a household nice and loud and-"

Her words died in her throat as she turned back towards Sasuke. Her eyes widened, and her jaw unhinged. Arms fell to her sides, and she gasped for breath.

He was down on one knee, fingers clasped on his bent limb, lips upturned in a soft smirk. His eyes met hers and she tried to form words, but he cut her off.

"Marry me.. Sakura." He said gently.

"I-I-" She started, but he cut her off once more, inclining his head towards her ever so slightly.

"Have three children with me. Or more. Or less, or whatever you-"

"_YES!" _She screamed suddenly, tears streaming down her face. She flew at him, knocking him onto his back with a loud grunt. She gripped his neck and sobbed loudly, nodding ferociously.

"Yes." She repeated quickly, but happily. "Yes. Yes. _Yes._"

In an instant, he cupped her head and brought his lips to hers. She kissed back passionately, hands gripping his shirt. His thumbs strayed to her cheeks, wiping away her tears with a deep, throaty chuckle.

"Always so annoying." He murmured, pulling away to kiss her forehead. Slowly, his fingers ran down her left arm, pulling her hand up to her field of vision. He slipped a small, silver band over her ring finger, and she was already crying again.

"Sasuke-kun, it's-"

"Beautiful." He murmured, but his eyes were only on her, and not the ring. She blushed deeper, and kissed him once more. When she pulled away this time, his hands stroked her back and face, eyes looking away in a small blush.

"I-I'm in love with a pink haired woman named Haruno Sakura." He mumbled, and that was all it took for her to glomp him once more in the dim lit room.

She decided that night that she loved confession time when the power failed.

* * *

><p><em>Hope you guys enjoyed this one! I just liked the simplicity and tenderness in it. Gah Sasuke is such a cutie patootie. Who is also hot. Ahem. Anyways. <em>


	29. XXIX

**A/N: **_RATED M JUST IN CASE FOR SEXY SEXY TALK/ACTIONS, READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION__. Again, I was going to turn this into a lemon, but I am soooo lazy and lemons take so much time to formulate and write perfectly, sorry xD _

* * *

><p><strong>XXIX. Tattoo<strong>

_"Alright, Sakura.. I dare you to get this tattooed on your ass!"_

* * *

><p><em>This is was a stupid idea, <em>she thinks grumpily as she stares up at the neon lit signs. She swallows and her fingers shakily reach out towards the door handle of the store. They hesitate as they brush the cool metal and she bites down on her lower lip.

_No, _she thinks with a sudden burst of confidence, _this is it. The appointment has already been made. _She has to go through with this. Fingers grip the piece of paper in her other hand and she drags in a long, ragged breath before exhaling it slowly, trying to control her shaking limbs and rapid heartbeat. At the thought of what she is going to do, her cheeks redden in a blush.

The good thing is, she reasons with herself, no one will know her in here. She made sure to travel outside of Konaha to find a place so that she would not be known or talked about. Her fingers grasp the door handle and with a quick yank, she steps inside the store, feeling the air blast against her face. This dulls down her blush, and she thanks the AC system silently. Fingers clenching her paper, she approaches the front desk, willing herself to swallow a dry breath.

_Do not stutter, _she orders herself harshly, as the man behind the desk smiles, and nods to her in greeting.

"Appointment for Haruno Sakura." She whispers and the man nods once more, checking his book. She commemorates her ability to not sound as nervous as she really is. In an instant, the man gestures behind him and into the first room with another smile. On shaking legs, she takes herself to the doorway, peering into the clean room.

"Hi!" The woman says happily from her chair in the corner and beckons her patient into the room. She moves in quickly and seats herself on the table, crossing her legs to control her jittery limbs.

"Hello." She murmures, and looks at the woman. She is a blue haired, older looking beauty, without wrinkles, but covered in ink and piercings. The woman bares her white teeth at her, and slips on a pair of gloves.

"Sakura right?" She checks her appointment book and Sakura nods quickly. The woman hums as she heads over to Sakura on the table, still smiling happily. It sort of comforts Sakura's nerves, if for a split second.

"My name is Hana and I'll be doing your ink today. So what are we wanting done, hm?"

With still shaking fingers, she holds out the piece of paper towards Hana, who takes it, humming under her breath happily.

"Ah", she clicks her tongue, "a simple design. I can do that. Where do you want it, sweetie?"

Sakura takes in a deep breath and tells the woman. To her surprise, Hana does not look shocked, but rather amused. She agrees, and Sakura assumes that she has had her fair share of tattoos on that area. She swallows once more. _Too late to turn back now, _she tells herself and musters up enough confidence to stand up to bare the area to the artist. Hana settles her down on the table and covers the area with a cool liquid. Sakura shivers.

"This may hurt quite a bit after, you know that, right?" She makes sure, and Sakura nods.

"Yes." She whispers.

* * *

><p><em>The girls were all over at Ino's house after a night of clubbing, lounging around on her couches. Hinata was in a fit of gentle giggles, and TenTen was on her third round of martinis. Ino was blabbering loudly about nothing in particular, and Sakura zoned out. That was, until Ino finally said something interesting that sparked Sakura's attention. <em>

_"Truth or Dare time!" Ino squealed, and raised her empty glass. There was a collective groan of disapproval among the other girls, and Ino frowned._

_"What? It's fun! Come on guys!" She nudged TenTen, who rolled her eyes and sighed, giving in. _

_"Fine. But Sakura goes first this time." Sakura's eyes widened. She absolutely hated Truth or Dare, mostly because she sucked at giving dares, while her friends were masters. Sakura would always offer the easiest ones, such as drink a concoction of different liquids, kiss someone, streak around Konaha, the kid stuff. But when Ino gave dares, she knew how to really spice it up. _

_After Ino quickly carried out her dare of licking the bottom of TenTen's heel (one of Sakura's blandest), she quickly turned back to the pinkette with a devious smile. _

_"Sakura, Truth or Dare?" She said evily. Sakura's mouth opened and she raised a fist to her best friend angrily._

_"H-Hey! You can't reciprocate it-"_

_"Actually, we made that a rule that you could last time, remember Sak?" TenTen chimed in, and Sakura looked towards Hinata for help. Hinata offered her an innocent smile and shrugged. Sakura pouted. _

_"You guys are evil." _

_She wanted to say truth, because she knew that Ino had a very well thought up dare for her, but she already knew what the Truth question would be. _Why aren't you and the Uchiha hooking up yet? _And Sakura was fed up of trying to reason with them that Sasuke didn't like her like that and probably never would. She didn't want to sit through yet another counseling session with Ino over it, so she gave in. Ino's dare couldn't be _that _bad now, could it?_

_"Dare." She sighed. Ino rubbed her palms together, and whispered to Hinata and TenTen, whose eyes widened. Sakura cursed herself. _

Oh no.., _she thought. _

_Ino quickly jumped up and grabbed a notepad and pen from her desk. With the help of TenTen and Hinata, she quickly and expertly scribbled on the pad, before holding it to her chest as if it were a child. She shot Sakura an evil grin._

_"Alright, Sakura.. I dare you to get this tattooed on your ass!"_

_She flipped the pad around to show Sakura, who's lips drooped, jaw dropping open. TenTen and Hinata were grinning too._

_"NO!" She screamed, her face flushing beet red. But Ino would never take no for an answer when giving out a dare._

* * *

><p>Hana had been right. It did hurt like a bitch. Sitting down was a tentative action, and Sakura had to strain herself in the first week to try and sit normally when in the presence of her male teammates. She only let out the expanse of pain and caution when around her girl friends, who looked proud of themselves. Naruto was completely out of it, and didn't notice Sakura's wince as she sat down slowly, and Kakashi sure didn't mention it. But she felt Sasuke's curious gaze on her as her lips dropped in a small amount of pain. She blushed and avoided his gaze.<p>

She was so glad that she planned it so her appointment was in the town outside of Suna where her mission was. That meant, no one was suspicious of where she was, and no one had to know that she went.

Every morning, she would turn around in the mirror, inspecting the small tattoo with a blush, before pulling on her pants and leaving the house. She was still in shock with _herself_ over it.

The only good thing about Ino making her get it on her ass was that no one would ever see it.

Her team had finished their regular training session one day when the tattoo was still fresh, and Naruto had accidentally bumped into Sakura, his arm nudging just exact spot of her tattoo. She winced and cried out at the numbing pain. Sasuke and Kakashi had turned to her in worry, both staring at her curiously.

"Are you alright, Sakura?" She bit her lip and nodded, rubbing the spot Naruto had hit. He looked at her guiltily. To be honest, he was quite shocked that she wasn't beating him to an incredible pulp for touching her behind.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan! Did I hit you too hard-" She waved at hand at him and smiled.

"No! Ah, I got a bruise the other day at work and it's still healing is all. I'll.. ah.. see you guys later!" She smiled once more and hurried from the training grounds towards her home. Kami, why couldn't Ino have picked a less sensitive spot?

She showered quickly to rid herself of the thick layer of sweat accumulated from training and changed into a thin pair of underwear and a long shirt. She applied the gel ointment to the tattoo, and looked at the clock with a sigh. She had to go around for an hour now, waiting until it dried before she could cover it. Hana had told her that the gel left one hell of a stain on clothes if it didn't dry properly.

She was halfway into making dinner, when her doorbell rang. She jumped with a squeak, face turning red.

"I'm not decent!" She whispered to herself and quickly pulled her shirt down to it's full length around her upper thighs, wincing. She wished she could put on some kind of pants. But she had already messed up one pair with the gel stain, and didn't want to go through it again. As long as the tattoo was covered, that was all that mattered right now. She quickly headed to the door, pulling it open. Her jaw unhinged at the man on her doorstep and she turned five different shades of red all at once.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She gasped, and quickly pulled the door to cover her clothing choice. He grunted and slipped his hands into his pockets. She watched him, waiting for him to say whatever it was he needed to, but when he didn't, she looked down, wanting so hard to just close the door and-

"Aren't you going to let me inside, Sakura?" He chided teasingly, and she squeaked, looking down. She let out a quick, awkward laugh.

"A-Ah, sure, come in. What's the matter?" She opened the door and watched him step past her, his eyes on her kitchen, where he could probably smell her rice and hear it simmering in the pan. He huffed in a breath and turned towards her. She felt his eyes travel down her body and back up, and his lips twitched up into a smirk. She blushed and closed her door, hurrying past him into the kitchen to check on her rice.

"Kakashi wanted me to come and check on you to make sure you were alright." He deadpanned, and leaned in her kitchen doorway, hands still buried in the pockets of his dark pants. She blushed and nodded, turning back towards him, just in case. She laughed once more and rubbed her neck in a Naruto fashion.

"A-Ah right, my bruise. Well I'm okay. Thank you for coming over to check on me-"

"Hn."

She swallowed and looked away from him. By his stance, he didn't plan on leaving any time soon, and that made her very nervous. He of all people could _not _know about her getting a tattoo, it would be the death of her.

"Sakura." She jumped and looked up at Sasuke, thoughts disappearing from her mind.

"Hm?" She asked shakily, and she heard Sasuke chuckle.

"Your rice is boiling over." He stated blandly, and she let out a quick 'oh!' in surprise and turned to her stove, quickly flicking the dial off. She stirred the concoction and mumbled to herself a string of curses. Sasuke grunted, amused by her actions, but continued to stay in her doorway. She bit her lip and set down the pot back on the stove ring, turning back towards him. She folded her arms over her chest, feeling a bit exposed, wishing she could put on a pair of pants.

"Sasuke-kun?" She said, and his eyes met hers lazily.

"Hn?"

"Why are you still here?" She whispered curiously. He shrugged and looked at the clock on her wall.

"To be honest, I have nothing else important to do." He replied coolly, and she shrugged.

"Want some rice? I've got enough for two."

"Aa."

She decided to serve up two dishes anyways. He was a man, he'd probably eat it either way. She turned back away from him and reached up to grab two bowls, setting them down by the stove. She grabbed a few tomatoes from her produce bowl and began to chop them into small chunks, humming as she did. She felt Sasuke's eyes on her back and swallowed around her tune. She slowly began to forget about the tattoo and the fact that she was only in a large shirt and panties while her lifetime love, Uchiha Sasuke was stood in her kitchen, watching her.

She collected the bits of tomato in her hands and dished them into the pot of rice. As she did, a small chunk slipped through her fingers and to the floor with a small _plop_.

"Ah crap." She muttered, and bent down to pick it up off of the floor, back still to Sasuke.

His breath hitched.

And then, Sakura began to remember the tattoo. She froze in realization of what had just happened, face going beet red.

* * *

><p>Sasuke was silent, and she could hear her heart thudding in her chest. She quickly stood up straight, tomato chunk ignored on the ground and pulled at her shirt, making sure it was back around her thighs. She bit her lip, hoping, wishing, <em>praying <em>that he had not just seen-

"S-Sakura." He sounded strangled, hoarse, when he finally spoke. She clenched her eyes shut, lips sealed together.

"M-Mhmm?" She winced, back stiff. There was more silence, and then Sasuke finally spoke once more.

"Is that the Uchiha fan-"

"Mhmm."

It was all over, Sakura thought. She was about to die. Every muscle in her body tightened, and she heard Sasuke's breath hitch more, now in complete realization. She quickly prepared her speech of explanation to say before he killed her, or screamed at her, or just flat out began to hate her. What she did not expect, and exactly what happened was for her to find herself suddenly shoved stomach first against the counter, a warm body pressing her to the hard surface. Air escaped her lips loudly.

"_Fuck_." Sasuke gritted out, palms pressed to the counter to hold her in place. Her body began to shake, and she felt his breath slowly fan against the back of her neck. _I'm dead, _she thought sadly, _he's absolutely pissed-_

"Christ, Sakura, do you even _know-"_

Her eyes widened as his lips fell onto the exposed skin between her shoulder and neck, teeth attacking the skin. She bit back a moan.

"-how much of a fucking _tease_-"

His lips went to her other shoulder, licking the soft skin. She swayed, and her eyes closed, lips still pursed and shut. He pressed his body ever closer to hers, a deep growl coming from his chest.

"-you are, and that you're driving me absolutely _fucking insane?_" _  
><em>

Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to say anything, but his hands snaked off of the counter top and gripped the front of her thighs. He pushed her back against his body, grinding his pelvis to her backside heatedly as if to show her just how much of an effect she had on him. His erection rubbed against her inner thigh and she finally let out a moan.

His lips fell back on her neck, pressing hard kisses to her pulse, and she wound her hands behind her, gripping and kneading his scalp. He growled louder, and his hands were already on the hem of her shirt, pulling it up to her stomach in a bundle in his fist.

"S-Sasuke-kun, the tattoo gel-" She whimpered in protest, but he growled against her ear.

"Don't care." He said, and proceeded to roam over her flat stomach and legs with his free hand. Slowly, he gripped her legs, pushing them apart, and hooked his thumb into the waistband of her panties. Shakily her fingers gripped the counter on either side of her hips, holding her upright, as she could feel her knees giving way. He ground against her once more, hot breath panting into her neck and she whimpered.

Slowly, the heat disappeared from behind her as he slipped to his knees, and she felt his lips right above the gel covered ink. She blushed harder. The insignia was about the size of his ear, and she could hear him let out a groan in complete pleasure.

"You can explain later-"

He stood up swiftly and swung her around in his arms, lifting her up onto the counter. He stepped between her legs, already pressing his lips back to her neck. His hands pushed her shirt up and over her head quickly.

"-when I'm finished with you."

She shuddered at his deep, raspy tone, and suddenly, she was clutching his cheeks, bringing his lips up to meet hers finally in a kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth, and she exhaled, squeezing her eyes shut. She dragged her fingers through his dark locks, using her knees to hook him closer to her, pressing his lower half against hers.

Tattoo gel be damned.

* * *

><p>(<strong>AN: **_I'll leave this part to your imaginations xD)_

* * *

><p>Of course, Sakura explained to Sasuke afterwards just how she ended up with the Uchiha clan symbol tattooed on her ass, and he remained silent, but she knew, she knew that she would have something to tell Ino this time in Truth or Dare.<p>

That was, if she _ever _got to Ino's house.

They still had to clean the tattoo gel off of the counter, wall, their clothes, and countless other places.

Not to mention, Sasuke was covered in it.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **_Sorry again for not going total lemon, guys, I like to open it up for the readers to decided what happened, but judging by where Sakura's tattoo gel ended up, I think we can all agree that Sasuke got some sexy time in LOL. And that, kids, is how Uchiha Sasuke finally hooked up with Haruno Sakura. _


	30. XXX

**A/N: **_Gaaah SasuSaku month is almost over! _

* * *

><p><strong>XXX. It All Comes Back To This<strong>

* * *

><p>The bed was lumpy under his ass, and his thighs squished the uncomfortable mattress. He couldn't help but remember the last time he had been in the Konaha hospital. At least this time, he wasn't filled with complete anger and distaste for the world and for how <em>weak <em>he was against Naruto. The stiff, sore pain in his arms and back rendered him from moving too much in the bed, and getting comfortable was not an option.

Outstretching a bandage clad arm, he gripped the sheets that had rumpled around his knees, and bundled the cotton in his hand. He yanked it up around his hips and closed his eyes in a deep settled frown.

He supposed he was one of the many still bed ridden from the war. Even Naruto was still confined to his own room to heal. He opened his eyes once more, obsidian orbs trained on the cream wall in front of him. Slowly, he dragged his gaze towards the night stand, settling on the sheer _emptiness _of it.

His last stay here, he remembered, was filled with streaming, bright light from open curtains, flowers in a vase on the nightstand, the smell of fresh apples, and a happy, chatting voice. But back then, being so young and angst ridden, he never took the time to fully appreciate what was going on around him as he lay in his hospital bed, eyes trained down on his covered legs.

And now, seeing that the only thing on the night stand was a glass of water (no flowers), smelling the strong scent of cleaning liquids (no apples), having the room darkened from the closed curtains (no sunlight streaming in), and the only noise to bounce back at him was his own breathing (no soft chatter), he realized just how appreciative he should have been back then.

Because now, it seemed, he wouldn't ever have it back.

His thoughts were too busy in the past, and he didn't hear the door to his room slip open in a quiet ruffle. Only when footsteps padded in slowly, did he finally pull away from his memories, and register her presence. But he didn't look up. He didn't need to to know who exactly it was.

She stepped in on airy footsteps, movements light and quiet as she closed the door behind her and made her way over to his medical charts. She checked them over, and his head raised from looking at his lap ever so slightly to catch her in his peripheral vision. With a curt nod, but no smile on those soft lips of hers, she stood back up and padded over towards his nightstand. She stood in front of it and faced him, hand reaching out towards the bindings on his stomach.

He didn't object as her other hand slowly went around his back, grasping the tie on the bandages. Slowly, she unwrapped it from his torso, her eyes fixated only on his healing wound.

He should have been more appreciative of her last visit years ago, he decided. He didn't like this version of her.

Her lips parted in a breath as she moved a finger out to grace the region around the flesh wound. His stomach muscles tightened at the contact of her cool fingers and the dull pain, and a small giggle escaped her lips. He wanted to drown in the sound, but as soon as it entered the air, it was gone, and she was silent once more. She bound the wound back, tying it tight at his side, and stood back up, brushing her hands together.

"The healing is coming along just fine." She murmured, and he could sense the prim tone of her voice. He held back from clenching his already pained hand. Her arms went behind her back and she rolled back on her feet, before slowly heading back over towards the door to his room.

They both acknowledged what she wasn't saying.

_It will never be the same._

His eyes narrowed, as he saw her arm reach up to gentle grasp the door and begin pulling it open so she could take her leave.

"Sakura."

She froze, and his curt tone made her back go rigid. Hand dropped from the door and she turned her torso in his direction, eyes on his drooped head.

"Hm?" He swallowed.

"I'm hungry."

She nodded quickly, and turned back towards the door, hand resuming sliding it open.

"I'll have one of the nurses bring you something-"

"No."

She jumped and turned back towards him, hand gripping the door. He lifted his head and his eyes met hers. Ever since the war, they had taken to making silent agreements with each other, and now, he felt like he didn't need to provide explanation. His eyes, he hoped, told her everything and what he was thinking. The corner of her lips slowly slipped into a smile, and she nodded.

"It's revolting." He provided, and fought the urge to gag at the mere thought of consuming the bland mush called hospital lunch. Sakura nodded once more.

"Ah, I was planning to head over to the market on my lunch shift in a few minutes anyways, would you like me to pick you up anything?"

His hands tightened and relaxed into fists, and he fought the urge to let out a quick burst of breath.

"Apples." He said, and he felt her intake a silent gasp. Perhaps she was registering it, perhaps not. If she did it wasn't showing as her lips moved up into another soft smile and she pulled open the door to his room. She stepped out, hand hesitating on the door once more to close it behind her.

"Of course. I'll be back soon." She murmured, and shut the door, footsteps disappearing down the hallway. He gritted his teeth.

* * *

><p>It always comes back to this.<p>

Back to _her_ and back to what happened. Back to what she had gone through with him. _For him_. Lying in the hospital bed with nothing else to do gave him ample time to remember things that he would not have wasted time on when he was getting power and taking his revenge.

They came in a flurry of thoughts, and before he knew it, the door slid open once more and she stepped in, arm holding a bag of food as if it were a newborn. She slipped the door closed behind her and reached for the stool by his bed, bringing it over to the side of the bed.

And in the partial darkness of the room, she gracefully perched herself next to his bed, setting the bag down between her legs. She pulled out a styrofoam plate and a bright, red apple, setting it down onto the plate.

"Cut or uncut?" She asked simply, and he couldn't help but register that her eyes weren't at all in his general direction, but focused on the ripened fruit.

"Cut." He grunted, and with a nod, she was dragging a knife across the cool surface of the apple. The bare, once whole fruit was now in half. She cut up one piece into delicate slices, and raised the other half to cut it the same.

His eyes watched her delicate fingers. When she raised the knife to the second half of the apple to cut it, he gave into his temptations and pulled his hand towards the plate, fingers ready to grasp an already cut piece to devour out of sheer, impatient hunger.

Her light gasp cut through the room, and his fingers froze in mid air. Her back stiffened and her hands began to shake. When she realized that he was watching her, he dropped his hand. She quickly cut up the fruit and set the plate and knife down on the night stand. In haste, she stood up and averted her eyes clouded with tears.

"A-Ah, I should get back, Tsunade-shishou probably needs-"

He slowly began to lull into the memory that her whole body had experienced from the cringe that ran up her back.

"Sakura." He said, cutting off her frantic excuse to get out of his room. She was silent, and he watched as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"I thought you were going to slap the plate out of my hand again." She whispered.

_Again. _

"I'm sorry." He froze at her soft whisper. Anger fueled his blood, and he gritted his teeth. He wasn't angry at her, but rather, _himself. _

"No." He spat, hoping he hadn't sounded as harsh as he thought he did. She let out a small whimper, and moved once more out of the room, but his hand quickly reached out and grasped her arm. She turned, lips parted, and stared at him, tears still slipping down her porcelain cheeks.

"I-I-" She started, but he cut her off once more. With a gentle tug, she was on the edge of his bed, and he had her against his chest. He pulled his hand from her arm to cup her neck, other arm going around her back. She sobbed.

"Never again." He said in a gentle voice, eyes closing, "I'll never hurt you again."

It was a promise.

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><p><strong>AN: **_One more prompt! Kishi-sama please give us some SasuSaku moments, Shannaro!_


	31. XXXI

**A/N: **_Last one guys, hope you enjoyed the 2014 SasuSaku Anthology! I loved these prompts, because I actually had to think about what to write and how to write the plot for some of them. Anyways, enough of that, last one. *Tears up* And hopefully we will get a beautiful SasuSaku ending or at least some more hope from Kishi-sama. Enjoy!_

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><p><strong>XXXI. Three Wishes<strong>

_(it's recommended that you listen to "Always On My Mind" by the Pet Shop Boys for this one ^o^)_

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><p>In his twenty-one years of life, Uchiha Sasuke had only ever had three wishes. Two of which, never seemed to come true.<p>

The first, of course, was to prove to his father that he was equal, if not better than his older brother Itachi.

The second, after the fated end to his first, was the childish, heartbroken desire to bring back his family, clan, his life. What he had known as childhood and innocence had been robbed from him, and all he wanted until he was twelve was for it to be brought back to him, as if by some magical trick. He wanted to come home and see his mother singing and cooking dinner in the kitchen, see his father at the table reading a scroll, older brother entering the front door, dropping his ANBU gear to the ground with a tired sigh.

After countless lies, heartbreaks and heart mends, he accepted the failure of that wish too and opted to make more realistic wishes.

His third wish was simple, but covered a mass array of options.

He wished to be _happy _again.

It seemed like an easy wish to accomplish, whatever he felt content from was leaning towards the fulfillment of this wish. To be completely honest, he was never hit with the sudden realization of it until a day like any other.

He returned from his mission on a summer evening, humid air sticky against his neck. He clutched his gear in his hands and fought back a yawn as he walked through the entrance to the Uchiha compound. He slid through the door to the kitchen, eyes registering the sight, legs slowly halting to a stop.

His obsidian orbs slid up the creamy legs facing away from him; over his rumpled, black, long sleeved Jounin shirt falling haphazardly off one shoulder of her body, revealing a porcelain shoulder. The large Uchiha insignia on the back of his shirt was evident. She was singing, a small tune he faintly remembered from an opening of a movie he had taken her to months back. Knife thumped dully on the chopping board, and the boiling pot on the stove wafted the scent of something utterly delicious to his nose. On the kitchen table, were his jutsu scrolls, unraveled, and ready for him to sit down in front of and read.

It hit him like a truck.

His breathing became shallow, and his vest and discarded weapons and gear dropped to the floor with a light thud. With three strides of his long legs, he was behind her, throat welling up with everything he could and couldn't say.

_I'm home._ He wanted to say, but his mind wanted to spew out so much more.

_(give me another chance to make you happy)_

_(there are little things I should have said and done)_

_(thank you)_

_(I'm sorry I didn't appreciate this before)_

_(I'm sorry that I haven't treated you the best)_

_(I'm so happy that you're mine)_

_(you were always on my mind)_

_(I'm so happy)_

He swallowed and opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off with a gentle giggle.

"How was your mission?" She asked gently, hands moving among the mess of tomato slices and onion and pepper peelings. Tears welled up in his eyes, and not just from the onions. His hands slowly ran up the sides of her thighs, over the hem of his shirt, and over her arms and shoulders. He stroked the back of her neck, parting his mouth in a quiet breath. His throat was still heavy, and she was completely ignorant of the turmoil in his mind. She continued singing, a smile coming to her pretty features as he slipped a hand to her hair clip, pulling it out of the carnation locks. He pressed his lips to her cheek, feeling her soft hair cascade around him.

_(because she looked so much like his mother with her long hair down)_

"I-" He started in a whisper, but found himself unable to form a coherent sentence.

_(I'm so happy)_

Her delicate fingers set the knife down on the counter, and she turned in his arms, hand gracing over his high cheekbones. Her eyes searched his cloudy ones in worry, thumb going to the corner of his eye to catch a tear.

"What's the matter?" She asked him gently, cupping his cheek. She was so calm, considering that he had never shown such emotions around her, or anyone in a long time. With shaking fingers, he cupped her hand, and leaned his face against the soft skin of her palm. His lips parted once more with the promise of speaking his mind, or at least saying something, but all that left his mouth was air and a hint of a strangled noise.

_(when did I become so happy?)_

_(tell me that you still love me)_

_(give me another chance to keep you satisfied)_

"I love you."

She was silent at his wavering voice, her emerald pools widening, pupils dilated. Her lips opened in a gasp. His calloused thumb stroked the back of her hand, and she joined his battle against forming tears. She didn't put up as much of a fight as he, because tears streamed down her cheeks, and she choked out a sob mixed with a laugh.

"W-What?" She murmured, and her lips formed into the kindest of smiles. He tried to swallow the hard knot in his throat. To repeat what he had just said. He opened his mouth to attempt to repeat it, but didn't get the time, because her lips were already on his, free hand yanking him by his shirt down to her and against her. He gripped her hand to his cheek and kissed her back passionately, before she was sobbing once more against his lips.

He gently pulled away to rest his forehead to hers, free hand traveling down her cheek and neck to wrap around her waist.

"I love you too. Always. Always and forever." She whispered, and finally, he let himself shed a few tears. The lump in his throat died down at a slow pace, and he tried once more to speak.

After everything he had put her through,

_(maybe I didn't treat you quite as good as I should)_

all of the times he pushed her away, yelled at her, _broke _her, ignored her for a higher purpose,

_(maybe I didn't love you quite as often as I could)_

and she still loved him.

A soft sob escaped his lips, and his eyes shut, clenching in attempt to halt more tears, but it was too late. They were already flowing down his cheeks. Her other hand slipped up to cup his other cheek, catching his tears, and she pressed his nose to hers, eyes watching his closed ones. Slowly, his eyes slipped open and through a haze of tears, stared back at her with an intensity that they had grown to register with.

"I'm so happy, Sakura.." He whispered in a choked breath, "..so goddamn happy.."

_(I'm so happy that you're mine)_

She was crying too, their soft sobs echoing through the quiet kitchen. She wriggled her hands from his embrace and pulled his head to her shoulder, arms wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him tight against her. His arms sloped around her hips, bringing her small frame to him.

"Finally." Was all she could form through a throat as clogged with emotion as his was.

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><p><em>I'm so sorry I was blind<em>  
><em>You were always on my mind<em>

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><p><strong>AN: **_I THINK I JUST HAD AN EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN OVER THIS AND I GODDAMNED WROTE IT. THE SONG + THE STORY WAS TOO MUCH THE FEELS GOT ME GOOD I AM LEGIT CRYING OK SORRY BUT I HAD TO GO OUT WITH A BANG AND I HOPE YOU ENJOYED ALL OF THESE WORKS I WILL GO CRY IN A CORNER NOW OK NIGHT._


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